Woman pleads guilty to murder, arson in fire that killed 4 in Worcester three-decker
This story has been updated with additional information.
WORCESTER ― A former tenant of the 2 Gage St. three-decker where four people died in a devastating 2022 fire pleaded guilty to arson and second-degree murder Monday in Worcester Superior Court.
Yvonne Ngoiri, 39, was sentenced to four concurrent life sentences, with parole eligibility after 20 years.
Prosecutors Monday said Ngoiri lit the fire, which started around 3:30 a.m., with a lighter in a rear stairwell while drunk, apparently motivated by anger toward the building’s landlord.
The landlord, prosecutors said, turned over video of Ngoiri — whom he’d banned from renting again — waving at a surveillance camera at the property just minutes before the blaze began.
Witnesses testified to seeing her drunkenly raving up the street; her defense lawyer said he could not begin to provide excuses for her, though he said her life has been a “damaged” one from an early age.
“She feels remorse and regret,” the lawyer, Michael Hussey, told Judge Daniel M. Wrenn, who accepted a joint recommendation that Ngoiri be eligible for parole after 20 years.
Under state law, second-degree murder is punishable by life in prison, with parole eligibility after between 15 and 25 years.
Ngoiri, a native of Kenya who is not a U.S. citizen, will be deported after she finishes her sentence under the law, attorneys indicated Monday.
Wrenn’s sentence followed emotional court statements from family members of victims, as well as a woman who miraculously survived after falling three stories to escape.
“I am forever grateful to those she has taken from us,” the woman, Aaliyah Hazard, said as she described how several of those who died including Vincent Page, her boyfriend, urged her to exit the window first.
Ngoiri was indicted in 2022 on four counts of second-degree murder, two counts of arson and multiple assault and battery charges in connection with the deadly May 14, 2022 fire.
Ngoiri admitted to all the charges Monday, receiving lesser, concurrent sentences on the non-murder charges including 18 to 20 years for arson.
The four-alarm fire displaced about 20 people.
Ngoiri was charged with second-degree murder for each of the residents who died: Joseph Garchali, 47; Christopher Lozeau, 53; Vincent Page, 41; and Marcel Fontaine, 29.
Two of the victims were found in the hours after the blaze; two others were found days later. The rescue attempt was slowed by the instability of the building, which was ultimately razed.
The deaths “involved smoke inhalation and thermal injuries,” Assistant District Attorney Joseph A. Simmons said Monday.
Simmons said the fire appeared to have been fueled by wind, which helped it leap up the building; firefighters were ordered to abandon internal rescue efforts and it took about 70 firefighters to stop the blaze from consuming neighboring buildings.
Family members took turns Monday detailing the depth of their grief, giving emotional statements in which they castigated Ngoiri and remembered those who died.
“We hope this result brings a measure of justice to the four families who lost a loved one, the three people who were injured, and the many others who lost their homes and belongings in this tragic fire,” Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said in a news release.
Early thanked investigators for their “tireless” work, including Worcester police, Worcester fire investigators, state police with the state fire marshal and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Fate of building site unknown
In the months prior to Ngoiri’s arrest, the fatal fire sparked questions about the safety of the building, whose owners had been cited for numerous code violations.
The property has since been sold to a neighbor. It has yet to be rebuilt.
Online city records do not show any building permits being recently issued and a spokesman for the city said Friday he had no update to provide.
The building was placed on a list of vacant city properties in October.
The blaze, as well as others that have led to the deaths of city firefighters, was cited by the city as a reason for starting a rental registry program last year aimed at enhancing safety inspections.
The rollout of that program engendered some controversy last year, with councilors voting to enact some changes.
City spokesman Tom Matthews said Friday the rental registry has “successfully registered thousands of properties during its first phase of the rollout.
“The Department of Inspectional Services will be rolling out phase two, a strategy for Rental Registry inspections, in the coming months,” Matthews said, noting that separate, mandatory state inspections have continued in the meantime.
A detailed report on the registry will be presented to the City Council April 29, Matthews said.