A Queens grand jury indicted a Jamaica woman for first-degree murder and arson for deliberately setting a fire in a detached garage that killed her ex-boyfriend and another woman in a fit of jealous rage on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 2.
Aliya Fakhri, 43, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on Wednesday for torching the entrance to the garage of a Jamaica, killing her former boyfriend, 35-year-old Edward Jacobs, and 33-year-old Anastasia Ettienne, who were trapped inside with no exit. The defendant’s last known address was on Parsons Boulevard, but she was known to sleep at the homes of several friends, all within a six-block radius of the crime scene, according to a law enforcement source.
According to the charges and investigation, at around 6:20 a.m. on Nov. 2, Fakhri arrived at the front door of a two-story detached garage at 172-27 91st St. and yelled upstairs to Jacobs shouting, “You’re all going to die today.”
Soon after, a witness who was inside the property came downstairs and discovered that the garage was on fire. Ettienne was alerted to the fire and briefly ran downstairs. She returned upstairs in an attempt to save Jacobs, who was sleeping. The garage became engulfed in flames, and neither Jacobs nor Etienne could escape.
Both Jacobs and Ettienne later died from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“As alleged in this indictment, this defendant maliciously ended the lives of two people by setting a fire that trapped a man and a woman in a raging inferno,” Katz said. “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.”
Fakhri was charged with four counts of murder in the first degree and one count each of arson in the first degree and arson in the second degree. Queens Supreme Court Justice John Zoll remanded Fakhri into custody without parole and ordered her to return to court on Dec. 9. She faces a potential maximum of life in prison if convicted of the top charge.
