A Grand Rapids mother accused of setting her home ablaze with her three daughters inside has been found competent to stand trial. The fire broke out early Saturday, January 25, 2025, around 7:30 a.m. at a house on the 900 block of Eastern Avenue SE. When firefighters arrived, they found the home engulfed in flames with thick smoke pouring from the windows.
The resident, 46-year-old Roconda Singleton, was standing outside and told first responders that two of her daughters had escaped to a neighbor’s house while one remained trapped inside. Firefighters rushed into the burning home and rescued 12-year-old Shamiya Stewart, who was taken to the hospital in critical condition. She died two days later. The other two children were treated and released.
Investigators later determined that Singleton had allegedly started the fire herself. According to court documents obtained by 13 ON YOUR SIDE, Singleton admitted to using lighter fluid to ignite flames in an upstairs bathroom before setting another fire on the first floor, according to local WOOD.
Police also discovered seven smoke detectors stuffed inside a pillowcase in the backyard, still sounding their alarms. When questioned by officers, Singleton initially claimed, “I do not know,” but later confessed, saying, “I did it, I am not going to sit here and play like I am the victim.”
During a press conference the following week, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said Singleton had tried to prevent her daughters from escaping the burning house. Singleton reportedly told police that her intention was “to die with her three daughters so they could be free.”
“This is a mom who tried to murder her three beautiful daughters,” Chief Winstrom said. Singleton told investigators that she had been struggling with mental health issues and could not find the help she needed. She faces charges of murder, second-degree child abuse, and first-degree arson.
Following her arrest, Singleton was arraigned and assigned a court-appointed attorney. Her bond was set at $500,000. At her recent competency hearing, the Kent County judge acknowledged her history of mental health struggles but noted that she has been cooperative and receiving treatment in custody, WZZM reports.
The judge ruled that Singleton understands the charges against her, as well as the courtroom procedures and the seriousness of her situation, declaring her fit to stand trial. Shamiya’s father, Lyn Stewart, remembered his daughter as “a happy child.” “She was my special child,” he said. “She was special in my heart, now part of my heart is gone.”
Community members, including the Baxter Community Association and the Grand Rapids Fire Department, have supported the family by providing clothes and gifts for Shamiya’s surviving sisters. “We just thank God for her quick thinking,” cousin Patricia Robinson, who launched a GoFundMe for the family.