Two deaths in an August arson fire at a home in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood have now been ruled homicides—61-year-old Tommie Darling and 58-year-old Danny Darling.
The aftermath of a fatal fire in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Aug. 27, 2016. | Chicago Fire Department
Two bodies were found after the fire in the 5400 block of South Laflin was extinguished about 2 a.m. Aug. 27, Chicago Fire Department officials said at the time. They were identified as Tommie Darling, who lived in the home; and 55-year-old Doris Anderson, whose home address was unknown.
Autopsy results for Tommie Darling were initially pending, but eventually found he died of thermal injuries and inhalation of products of combustion due to a house fire. His death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Anderson’s cause and manner of death have not yet been released.
A third person who lived at the home, Danny Darling, was pronounced dead at 11:15 a.m. Oct. 8 at Stroger Hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy found he died of complications from thermal injuries from the fire, and his death was ruled a homicide.
Investigators with CPD’s Bomb and Arson Unit determined someone intentionally started the blaze, and have classified the case as a homicide investigation, police said. No one has been charged as of Monday.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire