OLD TOWN – The investigation into a fire that killed a mother and her two young children continues, more than two years after the blaze occurred.
On Nov. 7, 2016, firefighters were called to a residence at 15 Bradbury Street, where they found smoke billowing heavily from a garage and second floor of the building. They also quickly learned there were people in the building and moved toward simultaneous efforts to search and combat the blaze. They soon discovered one body, then a second, in upstairs bedrooms; a third was found after a more extensive search downstairs. Dead were Maiysha Somers-Jones, 34, and her children, Isis and Zebulon Doe. The family had only moved to Old Town a few months previously.
For a week following the fire, investigators were on the scene searching for clues into the fire, sifting through a large amount of fire debris from the scene that had to be examined and toxicology tests that had to be done.
While the cause of death for Somer-Jones and her children was determined in December 2016 to be smoke inhalation, the ongoing investigation makes the classification of their deaths – which could fall into classifications including accidental, natural, homicide, or suicide – was never announced.
WABI-TV reported this fall that a criminal investigation into the fire was ongoing, although state officials offered no details on why. Local police confirmed last week that the state police and state fire marshall’s office still are continuing their investigation, although they could not confirm that investigation is criminal.
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