Woman charged with murder after uncle dies in house fire, police say

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - An Alabama woman was arrested and charged in a homicide investigation after her uncle died in a house fire.

The Birmingham Police Department arrested 32-year-old Keechaundra Deshay Cook in connection to a homicide investigation that occurred in December 2023.

Cook is charged with capital murder (arson).

According to police, on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, at approximately 4:55 a.m., East Precinct officers, along with Birmingham Fire and Rescue Services, were dispatched to a house fire call in the 1000 Block of Westley Street.

Tarrant Fire Department personnel also arrived on the scene to assist in extinguishing the flames.

Fire personnel rescued the man who lived there and transported him to an area with life-threatening injuries.

At that time, fire investigators classified the fire as an arson investigation.

Police say on Jan. 5 the victim succumbed to his injuries.

The Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on the victim and revealed the victim’s manner of death was a homicide. The medical examiner identified the victim as 44-year-old Otis Jones Jr., of Birmingham.

A preliminary investigation revealed Jones Jr. was at his home with Cook, who police said is his niece when the house became engulfed in flames.

On Wednesday, arson detectives learned Cook was in custody for separate charges in a neighboring jurisdiction.

Cook will be taken to the Jefferson County Jail where she will be held on no bond.

This is Birmingham’s third murder investigation of 2024.

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