NYC woman charged with killing ex-beau and woman after lighting garage on fire: Queens DA
An enraged woman allegedly shouted “You’re all going to die today” before lighting a Queens garage on fire with her ex-boyfriend and his female friend inside — killing them both, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Father of three Edward Jacobs, 35, and Anastasia Ettienne, 33, became trapped in the smoke and flames of the two-story structure after Aliya Fakhri, 43, allegedly set the fire on purpose near the entrance on Nov. 2, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Fakhri arrived outside the detached garage of a home in Jamaica around 6:20 a.m. and directed her threat at Jacobs, who was asleep inside, before allegedly following through on it.
After Ettienne became aware of the fire, she raced upstairs to save Jacobs who was sleeping, prosecutors said. But the garage quickly became engulfed in flames and the pair was unable to escape.
Both died from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.
Jacobs’ mother Janet told The Post her son broke up with Fakhri about a year ago, but she still pursued him.
“Like any other person that is being rejected, he was letting her know like ‘Yo, I’m done with you. Get away from me,’” said the 54-year-old parent, who did not want to reveal her last name.
“He’s been trying to tell her to leave him alone for the past year, but she wasn’t accepting the rejection. They broke up a year ago.”
Jacobs, who was a plumber, was working on a project on the property with plans to convert the garage into an apartment, Janet said.
Jacobs and Ettienne were friends and not lovers, according to Janet.
The dad leaves behind a set of 11-year-old twin boys and another 9-year-old boy, she said.
“My son was a very giving person,” she said. “He would give his last to a person. If you didn’t have anything, he would be like ‘Ok, we are going to figure it out.’”
Fakhri, of Queens, was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of second-degree murder and arson charges. She could face life in prison if found guilty on the top charge.
She was remanded in court Wednesday with her next appearance set for Dec. 9.
“As alleged in this indictment, this defendant maliciously ended the lives of two people by setting a fire that trapped a man and woman in a raging inferno,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“The victims tragically died from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries. Our condolences are with the families of Edward Jacobs and Anastasia Ettienne as we prosecute this case.”