DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A 30-year-old woman and her one-year-old child were both found dead on Monday in a Daytona Beach apartment, according to the Daytona Beach Police Department. Police are currently investigating the incident as a homicide, though a suspect has not yet been named.
The incident reportedly occurred in the evening, in the Countryside Apartments complex on Beville Road. According to a report from the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the building the pair died in also contained the complex's laundry room. Police have said that the mother was not killed by the fire, but due to wounds that likely occurred before the blaze began.
A four-year-old and a five-year-old were rescued from the burning apartment and hospitalized in Gainesville, police say, but efforts to save the life of the one-year-old were not successful. Though life-saving procedures were attempted by paramedics, the youngest child was pronounced dead in hospital care.
The reported homicide is still under investigation by law enforcement, and the State Fire Marshal is investigating how the fire began. It's still not yet known how exactly the mother died, how the fire started, who may have killed the mother, and if her killing and the fire are directly connected. More updates from the Daytona Beach Police Department are expected to follow as information becomes available.
