A 15-year-old will serve seven years in Colorado’s Division of Youth Services after pleading responsible to setting a Lakewood condo advanced on fireplace, killing Kathleen Payton and her 10-year-old daughter, Jazmine Payton-Aguayo.
The teen and an confederate, who have been 12 and 14 on the time, began the hearth within the early hours of Oct. 31, 2022, after they have been requested to depart a pal’s condo on the Tiffany Square Apartments advanced, in accordance with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Flames unfold quickly from bushes exterior the advanced at 935 Sheridan Blvd. to the wood walkway above. Payton, 31, and Jazmine have been trapped inside their condo and died from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation, the DA’s workplace mentioned.
Ten folks have been additionally injured within the fireplace, and everybody who lived on the 32-unit advanced was displaced.
Both teenagers, whose names weren’t made public below Colorado regulation, pleaded responsible to 2 counts of first-degree homicide, tried homicide and arson, all felonies. The first teen was sentenced to seven years within the Division of Youth Services after pleading responsible in October 2023.
During the second teen’s sentencing listening to on Thursday, court docket officers famous that Payton died making an attempt to guard her daughter through the fireplace.
According to a wrongful demise lawsuit filed by Payton’s household, she adopted directions from an emergency dispatcher and sheltered within the lavatory, lined her daughter with moist towels and held moist towels below the lavatory door to forestall smoke from getting inside.
That lawsuit was dismissed in May on the household’s request, court docket data present.
“Today’s sentence brings a measure of justice for the many members of our community impacted by this senseless fire,” Deputy District Attorney Riley Gonya mentioned in an announcement. “While nothing can restore the lives lost, the homes destroyed, or the sense of safety that was shattered, we hope this outcome provides a sense of closure and allows everyone involved to finally begin the long process of healing.”
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