Authorities in Chicago continue to investigate a deadly fire Sunday that claimed the life of a 32-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter.
An arson investigation unit was at the scene of the fire that gutted a single-family home in Chicago's Gresham section, but officials have yet to formally declare the blaze suspicious.
Killed in the fire were Ieashia Ford and her daughter, Porsche. Four other people were hospitalized with injuries, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Ford's relatives believe the fire was intentionally set, saying it followed hours after an argument between Ford and a man — who was one of the four individuals taken to the hospital for treatment Sunday.
"He was sending her text messages and threatening her," said family member Felicia White, speaking to WLS-TV. "That he was going to set her house on fire."
"He killed my two cousins," added David Wilson, another of Ford's relatives. "Her and her daughter."
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At this point, no determination has been made as to what caused the fire, and no criminal charges have been filed.
According to Ford's cousin Darryl Fields, investigators told him Ford and her daughter were asleep when the early morning fire started.
"She went back in to get her daughter," Fields said, of Ford. "They passed away in the doorway and she had the baby in her arms."
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