Police say suspect in fire sought revenge
North Side man beaten in bar fight
The suspect in a house fire that killed two women and a 4-year-old girl in Homewood early Wednesday set the blaze in retaliation for a fistfight outside a Penn Hills nightclub, Pittsburgh police believe.
“Yep, yep, I did it. They shouldn’t [mess] with me,” 41-yearold Martell Smith of the North Side uttered repeatedly as he watched firefighters battle the blaze at 7634 Bennett St. about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, a witness told police.
Investigators believe Mr. Smith doused the three-story brick house in gasoline and set it on fire not long after he was beaten in a fight with a man who lived in the home.
Coincidentally, that man was not there when the fire began, police said. His mother, Sandra Carter Douglas, 58, was killed and her husband, Cecil Douglas, 58, climbed out a second-story window and jumped tosafety, breaking his ankle.
The son’s girlfriend, Shamira Staten, 21, and her daughter, Chy’enne Manning, 4, lived in the home and also died in the fast-
moving blaze.
Mr. Smith was charged Thursday with multiple counts of homicide, arson, and endangerment. He was being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
Sandra Carter Douglas’ son, who was referred to only as “Witness 2” in a criminal complaint, told police that on the night of the fire, Mr. Smith picked a fight with him and a friend at The Spot Etc., a nightclub in Penn Hills. The son said he won the fight.
The son and his friend then left the bar and were sitting in a car talking when he received a call that his house was on fire. He rushed home to find first responders already there.
Police Cmdr. Victor Joseph said Thursday that Mr. Smith and the son were acquaintances but that there was no indication of a prior dispute between them before the fight at the bar. He said he did not know what the fight was about, and he had no indication that Mr. Smith had been using drugs or drinking heavily. Pennsylvania criminal records show that Mr. Smith has faced various minor drug charges but has not been convicted of any crimes of violence.
Statements from five unnamed witnesses and other evidence led investigators to charge Mr. Smith, known as “Praise,” as the man responsible for the fire.
Surveillance video shows Mr. Smith buying a can of gasoline at a service station on Penn Avenue “just prior” to the blaze, according to the complaint. A witness who posted a live video of the fire on Facebook said in the video that he saw a man use a can of gasoline to douse the house and then start the fire.
One witness told police “Praise” had threatened “something’s gonna happen” following the fight at the bar.
Another witness overheard Mr. Smith comment after the fire: “I heard Sandra was in there... She’s dead... Oh, well. That’s life. They made me do it.”
That witness snapped a photo of Mr. Smith and a woman he was with and sent it to police, who began to search the area for the man, according to the complaint. Investigators found Mr. Smith and Tiasia Malloy, 26, sitting in a car about two blocks from the fire.
Both reeked of gasoline, investigators wrote. They were taken into custody for questioning, and Malloy was later charged with aggravated assault against a police officer and resisting arrest. She was not charged directly in connectionwith the fire.
Police said in the affidavit against Malloy that she said she didn’t care about the 4year-old victim and that one of the other victims “probably” deserved to die.
Police said Malloy screamed in the interview room, kicked and struck the walls and threw chairs. A detective noted she had to be forcibly handcuffed then shackled to the floor. She also was being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
Cmdr. Joseph said Thursday that help from the public was essential to making an arrest in the triple homicide.
“We received a tremendous amount of cooperation and information from the community during this investigation, without which we would not have been able to solve this crime so quickly,” hesaid.
All three fire victims died of thermal and inhalation injuries, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office.
The bodies of Chy’enne and her mother were found on the second floor, and Sandra Carter Douglas’ body was found on the third floor, the criminal complaint said.
Sandra Carter Douglas was a practical, down-toearth woman who was always optimistic and cared deeply for her family, said her granddaughter, Lyniyah Lynn Howard, 17.
“She is always there through thick and thin,” Ms. Howard said. “She never shows her fears.”
Ms. Carter Douglas would often baby-sit neighborhood children, and took her grandchildren to outings at libraries, parks or museums whenever she could, Ms. Howard said. She remembers taking trips to Kennywood, and how her grandmother — who disliked being called “Grandma” and preferred “Nana” — would ride almost every ride, even the roller coasters.
“She wasn’t a fan at all, but if I wanted to ride she would get on it just for me,” Ms. Howard said. She started a fundraising campaign Thursday to try to pay for Ms. Carter Douglas’ funeral expenses.
“Even though she is no longer here on earth in solid form, those who she touched feel her spirit, and we are livingfor her,” Ms. Howard said.
Ms. Staten’s brother, Chuck Staten, 26, said Wednesday that his sister was a devoted mother who loved her family.
“She did everything for her daughter,” he said.
Chy’enne was so outgoing that she’d often say hello to strangers,despitehermother’s gentlechiding, he said.