AKRON, Ohio — An Akron woman, who left her children home alone before a deadly fire started is going to prison.
Abou Jabateh, 10, and Fatumata Jabateh, 8, who both had severe developmental disabilities, were killed in a fire at a home on 7th Avenue in East Akron last year.
On Thursday, Judge Tammy O'Brien sentenced their mother, 35-year-old Masiame Donzo, to six to nine years behind bars.
"Certainly nothing I can do will more severely punish you than the consequences of your actions and the loss of your children," O'Brien said before imposing the sentence.
In July, Donzo pleaded guilty to two counts each of involuntary manslaughter and endangering children. All of the counts are felonies.
When given the opportunity to speak in court during the sentencing hearing, Donzo apologized and wiped away tears.
"I take full responsibility of my action and I'm remorseful for my action. I am sorry," she said.
Akron police and fire raced to the home on May 23, 2022. They were unable to save the siblings.
"Someone has to be there for those kids. Those kids still deserve justice, and they lost their life in something that was completely preventable," said Elliot Kolkovich, the outreach prosecutor for Summit County.
Prosecutors said Donzo locked the kids in the home and went to a salon to work, leaving her kids with special needs by themselves for nine and a half hours.
According to prosecutors, the fire appeared to be electrical in nature and accidental.
"There was no accelerant, but it appears there were a lot of charging devices around and that may have been what started the fire," Kolkovich said.
Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Jennie Shuki said the children didn't have the ability to escape.
"They did not have the cognitive ability or the gross motor skills ability to get out once the house started filling with smoke," Shuki said.
Donzo's attorney, Olivia Myers, told the court that her client had a very difficult life. She became an orphan and moved to the U.S. from Liberia.
Myers said Donzo faced many challenges as a single mother. She contacted Summit County Developmental Disabilities, but was unable to find daycare for her children.
"They tried two, three, or four different daycares, and again, every daycare turned her children away because of these severe issues," Myers said.
Myers asked the judge to place Donzo on probation, but prosecutors felt the six-to-nine-year sentence was appropriate.
"Mom is going to prison for six years, and the two children are dead, so there's no one there for those children. That's what makes this one of the sadder cases you'll see, but our prosecutor is going to be there for those kids," Kolkovich said.
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