POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A sympathetic Broward County judge lowered bail for a Pompano Beach woman charged in connection with a fire that killed her two daughters.
Jeny Yosselin Melendez-Ramirez, 22, faces two counts of aggravated manslaughter of a child.
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"This is absolutely horrific, what happened to these two children.This is the worst tragedy that can befall a family," Judge Joseph A. Murphy III said.
Prosecutors initially sought $300,000 bond, but Murphy set bond at $20,000.
Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said Melendez-Ramirez told detectives she left her daughters and her 2-year-old son in the care of her 16-year-old sister, Saydi Melendez, while she went to work on Oct.13.
Authorities said Saydi told detectives her sister had told her to take the boy and go to Walmart to get some baby food.
The fire started around 9:30 a.m. at the Banyan Club apartments in the 1800 block of Northeast 48th Street while Saydi Melendez was gone. Firefighters found 5-month-old Abigail Espinoza and 5-year-old Sofia Melendez dead inside a bedroom.