SOUTH MEMPHIS, TN - Circumstances surrounding the fire in South Memphis that killed one child and left another in critical condition have led to a huge public outcry. The children were home alone when it happened. People are demanding charges, but the Shelby County District Attorney says not so fast.
District Attorney Bill Gibbons says he's waiting on some crucial pieces of information before taking any action. His office wants the full final report from the police, the medical examiner and the fire department. Investigators are still trying to figure out what started this deadly fire.
The windows and doors to this Effie Rd. duplex are being boarded up. Teddy bears line the yard of the home where two children were trapped inside.
"I was devastated,” said neighbor Brittany Malone. “It was very sad. It was a tragedy. We saw the kids come out. My aunt's boyfriend tried to get them, but he couldn't. He did as much as he could."
3-year-old Ladareon Dunn died and his 2-year-old brother is in intensive care. Investigators say the fire started where the two boys were, in the back bedroom.
Malone, along with neighbor Lakeisha Jeans have been collecting teddy bears and cards to create a memorial for the boy.
"It was just sad,” Jeans said. “How he died, and why his mother wasn't there to help. She was gone."
The boys' aunt, Marylin Wilson told us she and the boys mother, Melanie Dunn, were shopping.
"I didn't know they was going to set the house on fire like that," Wilson said Monday.
Tuesday night, Wilson was arrested for missing a court appearance for theft charges from three years ago and driving without a license. It's what happened this week, however, that has people calling for her to be locked up.
While the DA waits for all the facts before filing any charges, neighbors continue to collect teddy bears and pray for the two year old who survived.
"We need to have something up there so people will know what happened and our prayers are with her family," Malone said.
A cousin told Eyewitness News that Melanie Dunn is staying with her mother right now. He says she has another child who was not home at the time of the fire. The relative also says the aunt, Marilyn Wilson, has a history of mental illness. Wilson is being held in the Shelby County women's jail on $2,500 bond. She's been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation.
