Mother of children who died in East St. Louis fire needs prayer and time, grandma says
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Five children die in East St. Louis apartment fire
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The grandmother of the five children who died in a second floor apartment fire in East St. Louis says her daughter was the kind of mother any child would love to have.
Linda Barton said her daughter, Sabrina “Brina” Dunigan, has been devastated by her loss but has faith that the prayers and support of her family — in addition to a lot of time — will help her cope.
Deontae Davis Jr., 9; twins Neveah Dunigan and Heaven Dunigan, 8; Jabari Johnson, 4; and Loy-el Dunigan, 2, died from injuries suffered in the fire at 560 N. 29th Street on August 6.
Dunigan had left the apartment to pick up her boyfriend from work knowing her parents lived nearby in the same building. When they returned home at about 3:45 a.m., they found the second floor consumed in flames.
East St. Louis Assistant Fire Chief George McClellan said Dunigan was dressed in her night clothes as she attempted to rescue her children from the building.
Family members have heard criticism from some in the community about the children being left alone but have chosen not to respond, said Barton, because they know the kind of mother Dunigan is.
“I teach my kids how to be positive even in the negative. All that stuff on Facebook people are posting, I tell them ‘we know better than that don’t we? They don’t know you,’” Barton said. “There are a whole lot of negative people out there. No matter what you do in life, there is always going to be some negativity. What we are going to do is keep things positive.
“We know the love she had — and still has — for the five children she gave birth to.”
Barton said her daughter was raised in a close-knit family. Dunigan was raising her children to have the same experience, her mother said.
They had picnics and family dinners, played games and piled in the truck for a ride round town, she said. Aunts, uncles, cousins and close friends of the family were typically include.
The siblings bonded around their love of animals — Dunigan maintained a large fish tank, she said — and playing games, said Barton.
“All of our children are very much a part of everything we, as a family, do,” she said. “And Brina’s kids are all close. They were always together. No matter what, Brina always kept her kids with her.
“Everybody in the house played the same game whether they had a phone or tablet. They all downloaded and played the same exact game at the same time. They were very close. They might fight with each other but would not let anyone else hurt any one of them.”
The five children were buried at a Millstadt cemetery Saturday following a funeral at Greater St. Mark’s Church in East St. Louis.
Members of the community filled the pews and filed past the undersized coffins that included the likeness of each of the children.
Larita Rice Barnes, a local pastor, also set up an ongoing fundraiser for donations for the family at Regions Bank, located at 8405 State St. in East St. Louis. Anyone can go to Regions Bank and donate money. The fund is set up under Dunigan’s and Barton’s name, Rice-Barnes said.
Barton said she is appreciative of the support the community has shown for her family and, especially, her daughter.
“She is a beautiful person. She doesn’t have any problems with anyone,” Barton said of Dunigan. “She always took care of her kids. She did more for them than I did for mine.I told her she was spoiling them. Those children never much wanted for anything.”
Barton described each of the grandchildren she lost in the fire:
Deontae Davis, 9
“He was a genius. He was the smart one. He always answered all of the questions. He was the one who always taught love.
“He was so smart and so cute. Everybody loved him. All of his teachers loved him. When they saw him they gave him money or if they saw him in the store, they would buy him things.
“And, he loved video games — X Box and Play Station and all that. He was a whiz. Video games was his thing.”
The boy’s father, Deontae Davis, said his son was “the most playful, happy son who enjoyed life.”
“He is really going to be missed,” he said. “I don’t know how I am going to move forward or how I am going to fill this big loss in my life. This is just devastating.”
Neveah and Heaven Dunigan, 8
“(Heavan) was smart and quiet,” Barton said of one of her twin granddaughters. “She was the most responsible one. She mostly hung to herself. She was more like me when I was growing up. But, she had her moments -- she and Heaven switched places and Heaven would be quiet.”
“Neveah was the one who would get up and clean up right away if her mother asked her to. Or, if someone wanted some water, she would hop up and get it for them.”
Jabari Johnson, 4
Barton said she called him “Fat Bari” because he liked to eat.
“He always wanted to be at me-ma’s house for food,” she said. “He loved the way I cook.. He loved to eat and he could eat a lot. If I was at his house, every 15 minutes he would ask for something to eat.
“He was a jolly one.”
Jabari’s father, Le’Mario Johnson, Jr. struggled to talk about the loss of his son.
“My pride got taken away from me. He was the most playful, and happy son. He was the best son a father could have”, Johnson said. He will surely be missed a lot. I don’t know how I will move forward.
“This really hurts.”
Loy-el Dunigan, 2
“Tank-Tank was 2 going on 16. Tank-Tank had a little attitude problem, but she was real sweet and was real smart. If you were fussing because she did something, she wouldn’t say nothing. She would sit and roll her eyes if I was talking to her and she would turn her head like I wasn’t talking. She was something else.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
