The assistant district attorney who prosecuted Heather Ace believes the Batavia mother whose 2-year-old twin boys died in a house fire 8157 State Street Road, Batavia, in May of last year is genuinely remorseful for leaving her children home alone unattended.
Ace was sentenced yesterday to a year in jail after previously pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.
ADA Melissa Cianfrini said Ace has been remorseful since the night of the fire.
"As I said at sentencing, if she could go back and undo it she would a million times over," Cianfrini said. "I didn't doubt her remorse or that it was sincere."
Cianfrini said the DA's office is obligated to follow the evidence and the law and prosecute suspects with the highest charges available to them based on the evidence and the law. Since there is no indication that Ace was involved in any way with starting the fire or causing the fire, the only charge that fit the crime, Cianfrini said, was endangering the welfare of a child.
She originally faced two charges, but since both charges stemmed from the same event, she could not receive separate, consecutive one-year sentences. The maximum available sentence was a year in jail.
The cause of the fire has never been determined and this morning Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said that while electrical has been ruled out as a cause, there was no evidence uncovered that suggested any other cause.
Ace wasn't at home at the time of the fire. There was also nobody else with Michael and Micah Gard when the fire broke out. They were locked in a bedroom and nobody was able to reach them in time after the fire was spotted by neighbors. The boys died of smoke inhalation.
According to her statement, Ace left the tots home alone to go to a friend's house. She said she stopped to buy a malt liquor and also smoked some marijuana while she was out of the house.
When Ace's mother heard about the fire, she tried calling Ace, who didn't answer her phone. She then sent a text to her daughter, according to statements to investigators, "Answer your f---ing phone."
Ace answered on the next ring. She was hysterical by the time she reached her house a few minutes later.
"She had no role in the fire," Cianfrini said. "It was a serious lack of judgment (leaving the boys alone)."