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Woman charged in fatal house fire

A Bladen County woman has been charged with murder in the deaths of her aunt and cousin, who died in a house fire.

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Belinda Brown, charged in fatal Bladen County house fire
ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. — A Bladen County woman has been charged with murder in the deaths of her aunt and cousin, who died in a house fire.

Belinda Jacobs Brown, 49, of 1601 Peanut Plant Road in Elizabethtown, was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths 49-year-old Marcia Wright and 12-year-old Yolanda Wright.

Bladen County Chief Deputy Phillip Little said investigators found four places in the home where chemicals were used to help the fire spread more quickly. The Wrights died of smoke inhalation, he said.

Little declined to discuss a possible motive in the case but noted that Brown lived with the Wrights in the home.

Brown was arrested Wednesday night and charged with first-degree arson in the case.

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Information from: The Fayetteville Observer

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