Chicago man charged with murder, arson after house fire

CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago man has been charged with arson and two counts of murder in connection with a house fire that killed a woman and her pre-teen daughter and injured four other people, police said Wednesday.

Reginald Brown, 63, was arrested in the South Shore neighborhood Tuesday after he was identified as the person who started a fire at 4 a.m. on Feb. 28 at a home knowing there were people inside at the time, police said.

The fire killed 34-year-old Ieashia Ford and her daughter, Porche Stinson Ford. Family members said Porche was 10, but police said she was 11.

Four other adult relatives, two men and two women, were taken to a hospital and are expected to recover, the Chicago Fire Department said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled both deaths homicides after autopsies determined the victims died from 'œinjuries due to inhalation of products of combustion due to house fire due to arson.'ť

Police said a man spread gasoline from a plastic bottle on a back porch, before lighting it on fire.

Family members have said Ieashia Ford was receiving threats.