A Chicago man now faces serious charges after he allegedly started a deadly apartment fire that killed four people, including a pregnant woman and her young son. Prosecutors say 23-year-old Lontray Clark deliberately set the fire following a dispute over his ex-girlfriend.
Clark learned his ex-girlfriend was dating his friend. After seeing her Snapchat selfie at the friend’s apartment, he sent her a text. Around 12:20 a.m., Clark and his cousin stopped at a gas station. Clark filled an antifreeze container with gasoline, then drove to the apartment complex where his ex-girlfriend and friend were staying.
Surveillance cameras captured Clark parking behind the building. At approximately 1:23 a.m., he ran back to his car and left with his cousin. Prosecutors said Clark disposed of his clothes at his grandfather’s house soon after.
Clark’s ex-girlfriend and the friend escaped the fire, but the flames spread rapidly. Sadly, the fire took four lives: 76-year-old Brad Cummings; 32-year-old Regina Henry, who was three months pregnant; her 5-year-old son Jayceon Henry; and Regina’s sister, 28-year-old Destiny Henry.
Firefighters found Brad, Regina, and Jayceon while fighting the blaze. They rushed the three to the hospital, but all died shortly after. Rescue teams found Destiny’s body in the building the next day. Four others suffered injuries, including Destiny’s 4-year-old son, Kyle, who remains in critical condition.
A family member, Latyra Goodman, told ABC7 she escaped the fire but went back inside searching for her son, believing he was trapped. She said, “If my cousin had known her son was already out the window, she probably would still be here.”
Clark faces multiple charges related to the deadly apartment fire, including four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated arson, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of residential arson. The fire happened on June 26.
During Clark’s first court appearance, a judge ordered him held in jail while awaiting trial. The judge described his actions as a “brazen disregard for life.”
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