Woman Indicted After Setting Brooklyn Fire That Killed 2, DA Says

DYKERS HEIGHTS, NY — A 22-year-old nursing student was indicted for murder and arson after she started a fire inside her apartment building last month which killed two people inside, Brooklyn's Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced.

Joanna Mei, of Dyker Heights, started a fire in a trash can in the staircase of her 11th Avenue building on Nov. 9 shortly before 7 a.m., flipped the can over and left, prosecutors said. The three-story home caught fire and the blaze killed residents Xi Huang, 58, and Feng Xu, 56.

"The alleged actions of this defendant displayed a complete and callous disregard for human life and caused two tragic but avoidable deaths," Gonzalez said in a statement. "We will now seek justice for the victims and their loved ones for the heartbreaking loss that they suffered."

Mei, who lived on the the top floor, was caught on surveillance cameras exiting the building shortly before 911 calls came in to report the fire, authorities said. When she was arrested, officers found traces of accelerant on her shoes.

She told the New York Daily News that the fire was an accident that she started after she tossed a smoldering piece of newspaper into the can on her way to school.

"There was a newspaper on the ground that wasn't in the correct bin so I put it on top of a cardboard box and went downstairs," she told the paper.

Mei pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday and faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted, prosecutors said. She was held without bail and is due back in court on Feb. 6.

Her lawyer, Peter Kolp, did not want to comment for the story.

Image credit: Shutterstock