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Arson Suspected in Fire That Killed Woman, Boy, 8

By Erica Demarest | September 21, 2013 9:41am | Updated on September 22, 2013 8:46am
 A fire in Roseland left one woman dead and an 8-year-old boy severely injured on Saturday morning. (File photo)
A fire in Roseland left one woman dead and an 8-year-old boy severely injured on Saturday morning. (File photo)
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DNAinfo/Justin Breen

CHICAGO — Investigators are looking into the possibility that arson casued a fire in Roseland that killed a 28-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy Saturday, police said.

The fire started about 1:40 a.m. in a multi-unit residence in the 11200 block of South Martin Luther King Jr., Drive, said Officer Jose Estrada, a police spokesman. The cause of the blaze is unknown, police said.

Killed in the fire were Millicent Brown-Johnson, 28, and Jovan Perkins, 8, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Flames spread through a stairwell and engulfed the second and third floors of a three-story building, according to Will Knight, a fire department spokesman.

Brown was taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:19 a.m., authorities said.

Jovan was taken to Hope Children's Hospital at Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was treated for third-degree burns and cardiac arrest, Knight said. He was pronounced dead at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood at 11:15 Saturday night.

One firefighter suffered a minor laceration to his face.

The cause of the fire was still unknown early Saturday. The fire department and police arson unit are investigating.