RALEIGH, N.C. -- A North Carolina mother charged with murder after two of her children died in a house fire is being held on a $1 million bond.
The Charlotte Observer reported bond was set for 26-year-old Orgal Opata during a brief court hearing Tuesday. Mecklenburg County District Court Judge Regan Miller ordered that an attorney be appointed to represent her.
One-year-old Gabriel Hawthorne and 2-year-old Josiah Hawthorne died in the fire Sunday that destroyed the house in Charlotte. Two older children, ages 4 and 7, escaped.
Police say Opata left her children home alone but haven't yet said where she was. Fire department officials say a kerosene heater in a bedroom sparked the fire.
Information from: The Charlotte Observer
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
