You can pay me later tonight. It was the last time five of her children were seen alive. A few hours later, flames swept the one-room trailer in north Brownsville. Five small bodies were huddled in the back corner, charred beyond recognition. Half of me hurts, and then half of me is really mad.
Nobody knows what sparked the blaze.
It was a raw, rainy night, and the family had no electricity. Earlier in the day, they were using a car battery as a power source, Martinez told police. They may have locked the only door behind her. Police were investigating whether the children were trapped inside the trailer. There's nothing within shouting distance of the small lot but deserted trailers and empty fields nearby.