‘MURDER’ BY TRASH
2 dead in ‘rage ignite’
A Brooklyn tenant from hell was so angry about garbage piling up in the hallway of her building that she set the trash ablaze — and the ferocious fire killed a married couple, police sources said Friday.
Joanna Mei, 22, allegedly kicked over a garbage can on the first floor of her 11th Avenue building in Dyker Heights and doused the refuse with gasoline before setting it ablaze early Thursday, the sources said.
The fire quickly spread over all three floors, officials said. Victims Xi Huang, 58, and his wife, Feng Xu, 56, who lived on the third floor, were pronounced dead at the scene.
A family of four — a man, 31, his 30year-old wife and their two children, ages 3 and 4 — suffered smoke inhalation on the same floor and were rushed to Maimonides Medical Center and listed in stable condition. The dead couple were the injured kids’ grandparents.
Fire officials said there were no working smoke detectors in the building and that it took just over an hour to put out the blaze.
Mei, a nursing student, turned herself in to cops late Thursday and admitted she lit the garbage on fire because she was angry that nobody had cleaned it up, sources said.
She also told investigators she was upset about the death of her brother several years ago, according to sources.
After lighting the fire, which was reported at 7 a.m., she left the building. She returned shortly after and claimed that when she saw the flames spreading, she used water to try to put it out. Mei, who is not related to anyone in the building, was seen on video leaving the building at 6:45 a.m., the sources said.
“Our deepest sympathies for loss of life in this tragic incident,” said Mei’s lawyer, Peter Kolp. “We need to conduct our own investigation and look forward to our client’s day in court.”
A specially trained FDNY dog scoured the building and sniffed hints of gasoline, sources said.
A distraught-looking Mei hung her head and said nothing to reporters as she was perp-walked at Brooklyn’s 68th Precinct station house on Friday.
She was later charged with seconddegree murder and arson during her arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court Friday night.
Neighbors were stunned to learn that the fire was deliberately started over anger at garbage.
“It’s really awful that someone would do something of that nature,” said neighbor Heidi Pugni. “I think she had such anger and she didn’t think of the consequences going forward, and now she has to pay for her actions.”
Sallyann Brown, 36, who works across the street, asked “Why didn’t she clean up the garbage herself ?
“Now people’s lives are lost, and you threw your whole life away,” Brown said. “Innocent people are dead and now your life is over . . . what a thing to do for garbage.”
Holly Breyer, 44, called it “very sad” and “over something so stupid.”