ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida woman is facing murder and attempted murder charges after she allegedly "soaked" her two kids in gasoline and lit them and herself on fire, resulting in the death of her 8-month-old son.
This week, a grand jury indicted 27-year-old Esther Thelus with first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree premeditated murder. However, the investigation began back at the end of August.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called around 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 26 to a home on Hiawassee Oaks Drive in Orlando due to a fire involving a woman and two children.
When deputies arrived, they reportedly found the three individuals with burns on them. Thelus reportedly had 50-60% of her body burned, her 8-month-old son's body was between 80-90% burned and her 2-year-old son had minor burns.
All three were rushed to the hospital for treatment. The baby, identified as Davinci Joseph, was in critical condition due to his severe injuries. Deputies said doctors wanted to immediately take him to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville but wasn't "stable" enough to be transported.
The infant reportedly stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated. Doctors said they didn't expect Davinci to survive his injuries. Over the next two months, the baby fought for his life and was even eventually taken to UF Health Shands Hospital for further treatment.
On Oct. 25, Davinci died from his injuries.
Meanwhile, Thelus was intubated and taken to intensive care for her injuries. Her two-year-old son ultimately made a full recovery because his injuries were minor.
Deputies weren't able to speak with Thelus for some time because she was intubated and in the ICU. Investigators said they did speak with Thelus' roommate to get information about what happened on Aug. 26.
The roommate said Thelus left their home early that morning with her 2-year-old to take him to his father's home. Thelus reportedly was going to give her son over to his father because she was planning on moving to Ft. Lauderdale with her infant but wasn't going to take the toddler.
According to the roommate, her son's father and his mother reportedly questioned the legitimacy of the child and asked Thelus to do a DNA test to prove the man was indeed her 2-year-old's father. She reportedly agreed to do the test, left the toddler with the two of them and went back home.
Later that day, the toddler's father's mother came to the house with the 2-year-old to return him, saying she wasn't going to care for the child until it was proven her son was the boy's father.
Not long after the 2-year-old was dropped off at the home, Thelus left the house to go to the store. Investigators say surveillance video showed her go to a nearby 7-Eleven and buy a lighter, gas can and gasoline before walking back to her home.
When she got back, the roommate said Thelus took her two kids outside with her.
A short time later, the roommate's daughter reportedly went outside to throw away trash but quickly ran back into the house, yelling, "She's killing the kids! They are all on fire!"
The roommate said he rushed outside and saw a man carrying a "badly burnt" Davinci away from the house while other strangers helped Thelus.
The roommate told deputies he asked her "Why did you do this?" to which she replied, "It's too much humiliation."
Following the death of the baby in October, detectives said they had probable cause to charge Thelus with first-degree murder because "she killed her youngest child, Davinci Joseph, by soaking him in an accelerant (suspected gasoline) and igniting him on fire."
On Nov. 4, detectives placed Thelus under arrest for both charges.
