Arrest Made In Fire Deaths Of 2 Southie Sisters

BOSTON -- A South Boston woman has been charged with murder in connection with the deaths of two young sisters who died huddling for safety in their bedroom closet in early April.

Girlfriend Charged In Fire That Killed Sisters

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said detectives had uncovered physical evidence that led to the arrest of Nicole Chuminski, the girlfriend of the children's mother, Anna Reisopolous, 34.

"In the early-morning hours of April 6, Nicole Chuminski deliberately and maliciously set a fire at 154 West 6th St. in South Boston," Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said.

Chuminski was charged with two counts of murder and one count of arson. She is expected to be arraigned on Monday.

"The obtained evidence that Chuminski was present near the scene of the fire at the time of the fire and they determined that an accelerant found on Chuminski's clothes after the fire was consistent with an accelerant discovered on the door frame," Conley said.

Chuminski was arrested in Lowell on Friday.

Acia Johnson, 14, and her younger sister, Sophia, 2, died of smoke inhalation when their Sixth Street townhouse went up in flames on April 6, as they hid in a third-floor attic.

"The evidence gathered made it possible to hold Chuminski responsible for wanton and reckless actions which resulted in the loss of two innocent children. The sadness of that day affected so many," Davis said.

At the time, investigators determined the fire was set. Witnesses said they believed the girls' mother had been involved in a loud fight with another woman after attending a wedding that night.