GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – After a long day of deliberations, a Brown County judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a Green Bay teenager accused of setting a house on fire that killed her 11-month-old nephew.
A mistrial, by definition, is an inconclusive trial, such as one in which the jury cannot agree on a verdict, meaning Marcelia Fonseca will be back in court for another potential trial.
Fonseca’s status conference is scheduled for December 12.
The fire happened on June 7, 2019, in the 2500 block of Wisconsin Avenue. Crews with the Green Bay Metro Fire Department responded and were notified of the boy trapped on the second floor of the home. Firefighters were able to locate the 11-month-old and transport him to a nearby hospital. Unfortunately, the boy was pronounced dead due to “burns and smoke inhalation.”
During their investigation of the fire, authorities say it was determined the fire began in a “metal wire laundry/grocery cart with combustible contents” in a second-floor bedroom.
According to the criminal complaint, “the fire resulted from the application of an open flame to available combustible materials, including papers and/or plastics, contained within the metal wire laundry/grocery cart.”
The document goes on to say that three of the family members living in the home at the time of the fire attempted to remove the boy from the room he was in but were unable to due to heavy smoke and hot surfaces. The family members told authorities Fonseca, who was 15 years old at the time, did not attempt to go to the second floor to save her nephew.
The mother of the boy told authorities that the Fonseca “had stolen clothes, money, and jewelry” from her before and “had very bad anger.”
Fonseca told investigators that she had “burned a house in the past with some other kids in Milwaukee.” Fonseca additionally told investigators she had also “burned her house in Milwaukee as well.”