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Unattended toddlers die in NC fire; mother charged
Posted: 03.01.2010 at 9:56 AM
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Authorities in North Carolina say two toddlers left without adult supervision have died in a house fire, and their mother has been charged with murder.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman Bob Fey said in a news release that 26-year-old Orgal Opata was arrested Sunday afternoon. She also was charged with four counts of exposing a child to a fire.

In all, investigators say four children, ages 7, 4, 2 and 1, were in the house when the fire started early Sunday morning.

A neighbor was credited with getting the two older children out, but 2-year-old Josiah Hawthorne and 1-year-old Gabriel Hawthorne died. Investigators say the fire appears to be accidental.

Fey said he didn't know if Opata has an attorney.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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