Woman charged in connection with death of toddler in apartment fire

A 19-year-old woman has been charged with abandonment after leaving her 3-year-old cousin in an apartment that caught fire later that night in March, authorities said.

Giovanni Lyles died in the fire early March 11 at the Cozumel Apartments at 6403 Sierra Blanca Drive.

Kiara Jones initially told authorities she left her cousin to go to the store. However, phone records showed she left the apartment around 12:05 a.m. to meet up with a male friend in the parking lot. First responders received a call at 1:15 a.m. reporting the fire, investigators said.

“This is the very definition of a tragic situation,” Fire Marshal Laurie L. Christensen said in a Friday news release. “This is a case of negligence. An individual chose to ignore her responsibilities and that resulted in the death of a child. The law is clear in this situation.”

The fire started from the kitchen stove top, authorities said, and was caused by “accidental, unattended cooking.” There is a warrant out for Jones’ arrest.

Julian Gill contributed to this report.