Mahdia dorm fire: Girl, 15, slapped with 20th murder charge

The 15-year-old girl accused of torching the Mahdia Secondary School Girls’ Dormitory has been slapped with a twentieth murder charge following the recent death of another child.
The accused girl, whose name and other particulars cannot be published for legal reasons, appeared before Senior Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts.

She is now charged with the murders of Tracil Thomas, Lisa Roberts, Delicia Edwards, Lorita Williams, Natalie Bellarmine, Arriana Edwards, Cleoma Simon, Subrina John, Martha Dandrade, Loreen Evans, Belnisa Evans, Mary Dandrade, Omerfia Edwin, Nickleen Robinson, Sherina Daniels, Eulander Carter, Andrea Roberts, Bibi Rita Jeffrey, five-year-old Adanye Jerome, and Sherana Daniels.
She has not been required to plead to the indictable charge, and has been remanded to the Juvenile Holding Centre, while the matter has been postponed until July 20 for further report and the filing of additional statements.
The May 21, 2023 inferno, which caught the attention of international media, resulted in the deaths of 19 female students between the ages of 12 and 17 and a five-year-old boy, who was the son of the dorm parents.
Days following that horrific incident, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) disclosed that the fire had allegedly been started by the 15-year-old student, who had also lived at the dorm, after her cellular phone had been taken away by the dorm’s mother and a teacher.
Initial information received from sources close to the investigation had revealed that the teen in question had reportedly previously been suspended for engaging in activities contrary to the rules of the institution, and was involved in an argument with the administrators during which she allegedly threatened to cause “trouble.”
The Mahdia school’s dormitory had housed students from the communities of Karisparu, El Paso, Micobie and Chenapau in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). The fire was allegedly set in the bathroom area of the dormitory.
According to the surviving female students, they were awakened from sleep by screams, and upon checking, they saw fire and smoke in the bathroom area. This quickly spread in the building, causing several students to receive burns to their bodies and to suffer from smoke inhalation, while several managed to escape.
Several of the injured students were air-dashed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for treatment. On May 27, a 13-year-old girl was flown to the Northwell Health Burn Care Centre in New York to seek advanced medical care. She is expected to make a full recovery.
According to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), the dormitory housed 59 students. At the time of the fire, there were 56 females and a five-year-old boy inside. The remaining students had gone home for the weekend. The dormitory’s 26 windows were heavily grilled, and the five doors were locked with keys when the fire started.
President Dr Irfaan Ali recently announced that retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Major General Joe Singh, will chair a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the deadly blaze.
He also announced that the victims’ families would be compensated by the State. (G1)