KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Prosecutors charged Curtis T. Horn, 37, with two counts of first-degree murder in the weekend deaths of Brandi Johnson, 34, and her niece, 2-year-old Amiyah McClenton.
Authorities accuse Horn of killing Johnson before setting the fire Saturday at about 5:45 a.m. at the Legends Oak apartments complex, where her sister lived. Johnson was watching Amiyah while her sister was at work.
Horn was also charged Tuesday with 15 counts of endangering a child for the 15 children under the age of 18 who were in the apartment complex at the time of the fire.
“I think that’s a monster. It’s a monster that’s not thinking about anything that he’s doing,” said Lucy Vasquez, who lost many of her belongings in the fire.
Vasquez said a neighbor knocked on her door early Saturday morning to warn her of the fire.
“It was scary because we thought that we were going to lose our lives that night,” she said.
Horn is being held on $1 million bond.
On Tuesday, a memorial was set-up outside the apartments where the fire began.
