By David Greene
Officers arrested Medine Jeanty after she arrived at Queens Family Court as she tried to regain custody of her surviving daughter Nicole Jeanty, 6, on May 12, police said.
Jeanty faces two counts of murder, arson and endangering the welfare of a child in a Dec. 2 fire in the Metro Gardens complex at 141-05 Springfield Blvd., the Queens district attorney's office said.
The early morning fire resulted in the deaths of a second daughter, 2-year old Riamenne Jeanty, and her boyfriend Sam Solise, 70. Riamenne was pronounced dead shortly after she was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. Solise died 24 days later at the regional burn center of the Staten Island University Hospital.
At a news conference announcing the arrest, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said “the defendant set a fire inside the family's residence that took the lives of her daughter and boyfriend and placed the lives of other apartment complex occupants at grave risk.”
According to the police complaint, Jeanty set a newspaper on fire and placed it under the sofa where Solise was sleeping as her two daughters, Nicole, 6, and Riamenne slept nearby. The mother made it out of the burning building with Nicole but not Riamenne.
Fire officials said the mother and daughter were outside the burning apartment when they arrived. Firemen quickly pulled Riamenne and her father from a kitchen window. Fire officials used 60 firefighters from 12 units to bring the fire under control after 30 minutes.
The fire was declared arson by the fire marshal on Jan. 28.
Police suspect Jeanty set the fire after taking out a $100,000 life insurance policy on Solise and a $5,000 policy on each of the two children. They said Jeanty had made both an audio and video confession of the crime that reportedly occurred 80 minutes after the policy took effect.
Kevin O'Donnell, the attorney for Jeanty, said “we're pleading not guilty and obviously we don't know as much as the press here regarding this insurance policy. It's still too early in the case to have a good defense.”
The lawyer said “my client was in custody for 13 hours before giving a confession. She was coerced and they (police) put the fear of God into her and spoon-fed her a confession.”
But Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly contended “this crime was a crime of greed turned to tragedy. The detectives and fire marshals did outstanding work.”
A spokeswoman in the Queens district attorney's office said Jeanty appeared before Judge Robert Racti in State Supreme Court in Queens last Thursday and was remanded without bail. She was due back in court May 26.
Jeanty's lawyer said he looked forward to putting the officers involved in the case on the witness stand to question them about her confession.
The two detectives and their commander in the 105th Precinct were either off duty or out in the field and could not be reached for comment on Jeanty's claims.
“Obviously, this is a tragedy,” O'Donnell said. “Two people are dead, but I think before anyone rushes to judgment, they should wait until all of the facts are in.”
