A Florida mother has been arrested after authorities accused her of intentionally setting a fire inside her Miami home while her two young daughters were inside — and later pouring hot candle wax onto the girls.
Meliza Campos-Sanchez, 26, was arrested Monday, Aug. 17, and charged with first-degree arson, child abuse and two counts of child neglect, according to arrest affidavits.
The investigation began one day earlier, when Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the home after receiving a report of a kitchen fire.
A fire investigator later determined that the blaze had allegedly been set intentionally using an open flame, ignitable liquids and combustible materials.
Investigators said the case took an even more disturbing turn when they learned Campos-Sanchez had allegedly posted two videos to Instagram.
In one video, authorities said she could be seen using lit candles to pour melted wax onto her own leg before pouring it onto the hands of her two daughters.
In a second video, Campos-Sanchez was allegedly seen wearing a silver mask while spraying liquid onto clothing spread across the kitchen floor before igniting it with a red lighter.
When investigators searched the home, they reportedly found burned materials and minor fire damage in the center of the tiled kitchen floor.
Authorities also photographed several items they said were connected to the incident, including a silver mask, a red lighter and a clear plastic bottle with a yellow cap containing a liquid believed to be rubbing alcohol.
Campos-Sanchez’s husband, Yusniel Cue, told investigators that the couple had been going through marital problems and that he had been staying with his parents for approximately a week.
Campos-Sanchez had remained at the family home with their daughters, according to the affidavit.
Cue said he became aware of the videos after one of his wife’s friends contacted him and urged him to call police.
When he arrived at the home, deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were already at the scene.
Cue then took custody of his daughters, while Campos-Sanchez was transported to a hospital.
According to investigators, Cue also described an earlier incident in which Campos-Sanchez had allegedly attempted suicide. He said he had contacted the sheriff’s office during the previous week because he had concerns involving their children.
Investigators later interviewed the couple’s eldest daughter, who reportedly described what she had witnessed inside the home.
The girl said she and her younger sister had been in a laundry room next to the kitchen after lunch when they saw their mother allegedly set clothing on fire on the kitchen floor.
She also told investigators that her mother threw a glass mug onto the floor while dancing.
According to the affidavit, Campos-Sanchez then used a bowl of water to extinguish the flames.
The daughter said her mother later brought both girls into the kitchen and began pouring hot wax from lit candles onto herself and the children.
An officer later went to the hospital in an attempt to interview Campos-Sanchez, but investigators said she was sedated and unable to speak with them at the time.
Campos-Sanchez was subsequently charged with first-degree arson, child abuse and two counts of child neglect.
She was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Institution.
Make sure both daughters know what their “mother” did to them!!!