Mom, 2 Boys Were Killed in a House Fire While Kids Had a Sleepover. The Sole Survivor Has Just Been Charged with Murder

A 37-year-old woman in Australia has been charged with murder and arson following a house fire that claimed the lives of two boys and a woman in the Gladstone suburb of Toolooa, Queensland.

According to a Queensland Police news release, emergency services responded to reports of a blaze on Whiting Street shortly before 6 a.m. local time on Oct. 15. “Upon arrival, the house was fully engulfed, and the fire was extinguished a short time later,” police said. Three people were found dead inside the residence.

Authorities identified the victims as 36-year-old Jordana Johnson, her 13-year-old son Jordan Norris, both from Toolooa, and 12-year-old Chazz Mather from Barney Point. Police stated that Contessa Leigh Marie Richardson, a 37-year-old woman from Toolooa, has been charged with three counts of murder and two counts of arson.

According to ABC News and the Australian Associated Press, Chazz had been visiting the home for a sleepover when the tragedy occurred. Fire crews battled the blaze for nearly two hours, and efforts to locate the victims were delayed when the upper floor of the property collapsed.

Richardson, who sustained injuries while escaping the fire, appeared for a brief bedside hearing in the hospital on Friday. She is scheduled to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Nov. 24. Acting Detective Inspector Brett Richard said investigators had gathered enough evidence to proceed, though he declined to discuss the motive or confirm whether the victims were locked inside.

A GoFundMe page was created to honor the “three beautiful souls” lost in the fire — Jordana, Jordan, and Chazz. The tribute described Jordana as “a devoted mother with a big heart” who adored her three children, while Jordan and Chazz were remembered as cheerful, caring boys who were inseparable.

“The recent house fire in Gladstone has ripped apart not only two families but the entire community,” the page read, adding that donations would help Jordana’s two surviving daughters and Chazz’s mother and siblings rebuild their lives.

On Oct. 25, more than 1,000 people gathered at Barney Point Beach in Yallarm — the traditional name for Gladstone — for a moving memorial that included traditional dancing, a smoking ceremony, an ocean cleansing ritual, and a water blessing, according to ABC News. The site, considered sacred by the Gooreng Gooreng people, served as a place of healing for the grieving community.

As of Oct. 27, the fundraiser had collected more than $22,000 in support of the victims’ families.