Suspect in '88 Molotov cocktail triple fatal died from OD

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - The Fort Wayne Police Department has closed the case of the 1988 Molotov cocktail deaths of three boys because the suspect in the case died of a drug overdose more than a year ago, police and the Allen County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Jarvis Jefferson, 53, overdosed in December 2020, said Brian Martin, a cold case homicide detective for the Fort Wayne Police Department,

Jefferson was 19 on May 21, 1988, when 3-year-old Durell Mitchell, 5-year-old Genayle Mitchell, and 11-year-old Jermaine Mitchell died after the firebomb was thrown into a home. Several other members of the Mitchell family were injured, police say.

Jefferson confessed to the crime to a relative, Martin said.

No motive for the crime has been provided.