"she said, ‘You’re going to die today!'"
According to news reports, a woman who is allegedly the sister of Nargis Fakhri has been arrested for allegedly lighting a New York garage on fire with her ex-boyfriend and his female friend inside – killing them both.
Aliya Fakhri was arrested for murder and arson, having allegedly set the fire in Queens that killed Edward Jacobs and his new friend Anastasia ‘Star’ Ettienne.
Mr Jacobs and Ms Ettienne became trapped in the blaze of the two-story garage on 91st Avenue in Jamaica on November 2, 2024.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said:
“This defendant maliciously ended the lives of two people by setting a fire that trapped a man and woman in a raging inferno.”
Forty-three-year-old Fakhri was held without bail during her arraignment.
Ms Katz added: “The victims tragically died from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.”
According to witnesses, the 6:35 am blaze was too sudden and large to rescue the victims from.
A man who lives on the first floor of a house in front of the garage said:
“I was in the house.
“Everybody went to the back [to the garage] to try to get them out and couldn’t. We didn’t have a chance. The fire was too huge to get in.”
Another man said he and Mr Jacobs had been illegally living in the garage and Ms Ettienne was visiting.
He said: “We were all upstairs. Eddie was sleeping and Star and I were talking and she was laughing.
“Somebody comes in the garage. We didn’t know who it was at first but we recognised her voice and she said, ‘You’re going to die today! I can’t believe you keep doing this to me! You’re going to die!’
“We smelled something sweet burning.
“I don’t know if it was gasoline or what. We ran out and the couch on the stairs was on fire and we had to jump over it to get out.
“Star jumped over with me but she went back in to save [Mr Jacobs].”
Both her and Mr Jacobs died at the scene.
Speaking about Mr Jacobs and Fakhri’s past relationship, the man added:
“It was an abusive relationship.
“She told everybody [in the past] she was going to burn his house down, that she was going to kill him. We just laughed at her.”
Mr Jacobs leaves behind 11-year-old twin boys and another nine-year-old boy.
According to the New York Daily News, the suspect is believed to be the younger sister of Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri, however, no confirmation has been made that they are related.
Mr Jacobs’ mother Janet said her son broke up with Aliya Fakhri about a year ago but she continued to pursue him.
She said:
“Like any other person that is being rejected, he was letting her know like ‘Yo, I’m done with you. Get away from me’.”
“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.”
Mr Jacobs, who was a plumber, was working on a project on the property with plans to convert the garage into an apartment.
According to Janet, the victims were friends, not lovers.
Ms Ettienne’s sister Jah’Aisha Ettienne contacted the morgue and described her sibling’s tattoos to help confirm Ettienne was the victim.
The final confirmation was made through fingerprints the next day.
She said: “My mother is lost, distraught. It’s hard to lose your child.”
Fakhri 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.
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