CHESTER, Ill. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to setting a house fire last year in southwestern Illinois that killed four children has been sentenced to 53 years in prison.
The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan (http://bit.ly/1ujM83g) reports that 34-year-old Derrick Twardoski was sentenced Friday — two months after he and Randolph County prosecutors reached an agreement that called for him to plead guilty to one of the four counts of first-degree murder.
Authorities say Twardoski set the fire in the village of Percy in May 2013. Four children — 5-year-old twins and a 9- and 12-year-old — who were sleeping upstairs were killed.
The victims’ parents and a brother and cousin who were sleeping downstairs or in the basement escaped. Fire and heavy smoke prevented them from reaching the other children.
