MERCER COUNTY HOMICIDE TASK FORCE ARRESTS TRENTON MAN IN CONNECTION TO FATAL HOUSE FIRE IN HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY
" Michael Sanders Of Trenton, New Jersey Has Been Charged With 3 Counts Of First Degree Felony Murder & Arson Charges In Connection To A Fatal House Fire Which Claimed The Lives Of 3 Individuals, Including A Nine Month Old Infant."
July 12, 2021 By Art Fletcher Reporting For: Englebrook Independent News,
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ.- On Monday, July 12, 2021 Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced that The Mercer County Homicide Task Force arrested Michael Sanders for setting the fire on Friday July 9, 2021 in Hamilton Township, New Jersey which claimed the lives of three people, including a nine month old child.
Michael Sanders, 23, of Trenton, New Jersey has been Charged with Three Counts of First Degree Murder; Three Counts of First Degree Felony Murder; Three Counts of Second Degree Aggravated Assault; Two Counts of Second Degree Aggravated Arson; and One Count of Causing Wide Spread Injury or Damage.
Sanders was taken into custody early this morning at a Hotel in Plainsboro, New Jersey. The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office has filed a motion in State Superior Court to have Sanders detained pending trial.
The Charges are the result of an investigation conducted by The Mercer County Homicide Task Force in conjunction with The Arson Investigation Unit.
On Friday, July 9, 2021, at approximately 3:40 a.m. a fire broke out at 213 Woodlawn Avenue in Hamilton Township which quickly engulfed both side of the two and a half story, wood frame duplex, causing a partial roof collapse.
A nine-month-old baby girl, identified as Malani Sanders, and a Forty-two-year-old female identified as Tiffany Abrams-Jones were found deceased at the scene.
Three addition individuals which resided at the residence were transported to an area hospital having sustained critical burns. One of those individuals fifty-year-old Prince Jones succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, July 11, 2021. Jones and Abrams-Jones were the Grandparents of the baby.
Detectives from The Mercer County Homicide Task Force were able to retrieve video surveillance from numerous cameras located in and around the area of the fire, and were able to interview witnesses. One witness told investigators that during the night leading up to the fire, one of the residents of 213 Woodlawn Avenue, who is the mother of the deceased baby, received a text message from the baby's father, Michael Sanders, telling her to get their baby out of the house.
Further during the ensuing investigation Detectives were able to track Sanders movement from video, which showed him arriving and leaving the surround area of Woodlawn Avenue within minutes of the fire.
The investigation remains active and ongoing. Anyone that may have additional information regarding this incident is urged to contact Mercer County Homicide Task Force Detective Jennifer Eyster at (609) 989-6406 or mchtftips@mercercounty.org
" The Rules Of The Court Require Us To Include A Statement, Which States: The Charges Are Merely Accusations And The Defendant And Or Defendants Are Presumed Innocent Unless And Until Proven Guilty Beyond Reasonable Doubt."
FILED UNDER JULY 12, 2021: LAW, MERCER: