GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Families who have experienced a house fire grapple with a range of emotions like grief and stress, depending on the extent of the loss. When I was a child, one of my older brothers fell a sleep in front of the television while cooking something late one night.

A Grand Rapids mother has pleaded not guilty to setting her house on fire, but admitted she intended to die with her daughters "so they could be free."

Roconda Singleton, 46, was arraigned on a felony murder charge in Grand Rapids District Court on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Singleton is accused of setting her home on fire while her three children were asleep inside. Her 12-year-old daughter died two days later from injuries suffered in the blaze. Bradley Massman | MLive.com

The mother told Grand Rapids officials she removed all the smoke alarms before setting the house on fire while her three daughters were asleep.

A Grand Rapids mother accused of setting her own house on fire while her children were sleeping inside is now facing an additional murder charge.

A Grand Rapids mother faces arson charges after investigators say she set fire to her home with her children inside, sending one of her daughters to the hospital, where she later died.

A woman has been charged with arson and child abuse for a house fire she allegedly set that killed one of her three daughters. Roconda Singleton, 46, appeared for a virtual arraignment Tuesday, Jan. 28,

The mother who admitted to setting fire to her Grand Rapids home while her children were inside is facing an additional charge after her daughter died. (Jan. 29, 2025)

Shamiya Stewart, 12, died two days after a fire her mother allegedly admitted to setting off, per police. Shamiya's two younger siblings survived the fire.