A day after fire killed six children and three women at the Academy Crossing apartment complex, hundreds of people turned out Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil in front of the building”s charred remains.
A memorial of stuffed animals, balloons, photos and poems was set up at the bottom of a staircase leading to the second floor of Building E, where fire broke out Monday around 4:30 a.m. and trapped the nine victims in Apartment 7. Autopsy reports released Tuesday show 25-year-old India Williams, 20-year-old Lakesha Gillespie and 18-year-old Castella “Maria” Bell died from smoke inhalation.
Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt said he will not order autopsies on Williams” three children who died in the fire, Jacorian Vasser, 6, Richard Vasser Jr., 5, and Kamorian Williams, 2, or Bell”s three children who also perished, Ta”Nayia Bell, 4, Jayvion Bell, 3, and Sumaya Bell, 6 Months.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Starkville Fire Department Chief Rodger Mann said Tuesday night at the apartment complex, where the parking lot outside Building E filled with friends, family and other community members who gathered to mourn the victims.
“Not enough words or tears can express how hurt I am by this tragedy,” said Adrian Gillespie, Lakesha Gillespie”s sister.
“My life changed dramatically in the blink of an eye,” Gillespie said later. “My life will never be the same.”
Throughout the vigil, women and children cried and clutched each other. The crowd even sang along at one point with Ora Lane, who performed one song to open the vigil and another at the end.
“I”ll fly away, oh glory,” the crowd sang in unison. “I”ll fly away in the morning …”
Family members weaved their way through the crowd during the song, candles in hand, and made their way onto the staircase overlooking the congregation. Asia and Brandon Gardner, brother and sister of India Williams, broke down in tears. Adrian Gillespie wept nearby.
When Lane finished the song, the victims” family members were hugged by dozens of friends and neighbors. They then hurried away from the vigil, still overcome with emotion.
A helping hand
India Williams lived in Apartment E7 with her three children, but was letting Bell and her family stay with her because they had fallen on hard times, neighbors said Monday. Gillespie was a close friend.
“If you needed somewhere to live, you could live with India,” said Clara Lee, who has known Williams for years.
Lee and others described Williams as a hard-working woman who would do anything for her friends and family. She often babysat her friends” children, said Percy Williams, India”s dad.
Over the years, Percy Williams watched as India transformed from a girl going through “typical teenage stuff” into a mother of three rambunctious young boys.
Williams attended Starkville High School, but didn”t graduate, Percy Williams said. She planned to get her GED.
“As an adult, she was striving to get her life together and to be a good mom to her kids,” Percy Williams said.
Williams didn”t have a lot of free time, her father said, because she spent most of her waking hours raising her sons and working at Popeye”s on Highway 12. She occasionally went out with her friends, but Williams loved spending time with her children more than anything, Percy Williams said.
“She was very family-oriented,” he said.
Percy Williams described Jacorian and Richard Vasser Jr., or “R.J.,” as “two peas in a pod.” Both had a lot of energy and Kamarion Williams, the youngest of the brothers, was the same way, Percy Williams said.
Jacorian was in first grade and Richard was in kindergarten at Sudduth Elementary School, said Sudduth Principal Elizabeth Mosley. None of the other children who died in the blaze were students.
“It”s tough to lose kids,” Mosley said. “We”re real upset about it. These were good kids. It”s going to be tough for all of us to handle on Monday when we go back to school and we”re going to have to deal with the grief of the kids who were their friends. It”s a tough situation.”
The Starkville School District will have grief counselors available to students, teachers and other staff, district Superintendent Judy Couey said.
“It”s just a tragedy,” Couey said. “To have something of that magnitude happen around the holidays, it seems like it just makes it twice as tragic as it is. But I think this community is going to rally around them.”
The father of India Williams” children, Richard Vasser Sr., and Williams” brother, William Gardner, are stationed in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army. The two men were cleared by the Army to return to Starkville and were en route Tuesday evening, said Oktibbeha County Red Cross Director Becky Wilkes.
Bell, a former JROTC member at Starkville High School, worked at McDonald”s on Highway 12 East. Gillespie didn”t have a job, friends said.
Attempts to speak with families of Bell and Gillespie were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Tribute pages have been set up for all three women on Facebook. The sites are full of posts from friends expressing their shock, sadness and disbelief about the events of Monday morning.
“Castella was a charming and special young lady to those who loved her the most,” says a description on a Facebook page for Bell. “She was a loving mother and a great friend. Her children were sweet and loving. They will all be missed. We love you, Maria, and will keep you in our hearts forever.”
Donations can be earmarked for the victims and sent to the Oktibbeha County Chapter of the American Red Cross at 100 Felix Long Drive, Starkville, or to West Memorial Funeral Home, at 103 Jefferson St., Starkville.
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