New York woman charged with killing ex-boyfriend and ex-wife after setting fire to garage: Queens district attorney

An angry woman allegedly shouted “Today you’re all going to die” before setting fire to a Queens garage containing her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend – killing both of them, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Father-of-three Edward Jacobs, 35, and Anastasia Ettienne, 33, were caught in the smoke and flames of the two-story building after Aliya Fakhri, 43, allegedly intentionally set the fire near the entrance on November 2, according to the district attorney’s office Queens.

Fakhri arrived at the detached garage of a home in Jamaica around 6:20 a.m. and made her threat to Jacobs, who was sleeping inside, before allegedly carrying out her threat.

After Ettienne became aware of the fire, she ran upstairs to save the sleeping Jacobs, prosecutors said. But the garage quickly burst into flames and the couple couldn’t escape.

Both died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.

Jacobs’ mother, Janet, told the Post that her son broke up with Fakhri about a year ago, but she still pursued him.

“Like any other person who gets rejected, he let them know, ‘Yo, I’m done with you.’ “Get away from me,” said the 54-year-old mother, who did not want to reveal her last name.

“He’s been trying to tell her to leave him alone for a year, but she hasn’t accepted the rejection. They broke up a year ago.”

Jacobs, who was a plumber, was working on a project on the property and planned to convert the garage into an apartment, Janet said.

According to Janet, Jacobs and Ettienne were friends and not lovers.

The father leaves behind a pair of 11-year-old twin boys and another 9-year-old boy, she said.

“My son was a very generous person,” she said. “He would give his last to a person. If you had nothing, he would say, ‘Okay, we’ll sort it out.'”

Fakhri, of Queens, was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of second-degree murder and arson. If she is found guilty of the main charge, she could face life in prison.

She was taken into custody on Wednesday and her next appearance is scheduled for December 9th.

“As alleged in this indictment, this defendant maliciously ended the lives of two people by starting a fire that trapped a man and a woman in a raging inferno,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement .

“The victims tragically died from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries. Our condolences go out to the families of Edward Jacobs and Anastasia Ettienne as we pursue this case.”