Witness sought in girls’ killing

The arson-homicide is being featured on Crime Stoppers.

By PATRICIA MEADE

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — You don’t just toss a firebomb that leaves two little girls dead and not talk about it.

That’s how Detective Sgt. John Kelty views the May 2, 2002, double homicide and arson at 33 E. Lucius Ave.

He has a suspect but needs a witness to the vengeful act — someone who knew the fire was going to be set, or heard about it later from the arsonist.

Choking smoke from the gasoline-fueled fire killed Rakaylah Clark, 8, and her sister, Ranayja Clark, 4. The girls huddled under clothes near a second-story bedroom window while fire raged through their South Side home around 12:30 a.m.

Seven of the 18 firefighters who entered the burning building to find the kids were injured. The girls, one on top of the other, died where they went to hide.

Firefighters used a ladder to rescue the girls’ mother, Darilyn Clark, and older sisters, Chaunte, then 11, and Crystal, then 10. The trio escaped by kicking out a second-floor porch window.

All four girls had been in the same upstairs bedroom at the large 21⁄2-story wooden frame house when alerted by their mother’s screams. Rakaylah and Ranayja, instead of following their older sisters to safety, made their way through thick black smoke to another bedroom.

“We have a suspect but not enough corroborating evidence to prosecute him,” Kelty said. “We need a witness who can put him there.”

The motive, Kelty said, was a drug feud — theft of drugs or money — between the suspect and then-boyfriend of the girls’ mother who occasionally stayed at the Clark house.

The suspect, the detective said, is still around and still involved in drug activity.

Kelty said the victims’ mother, who has moved twice since the fire, has been helpful, but he needs more. He last saw her about a year ago.

The mother could not be reached for this story.

Investigators were told the boyfriend left at 10 o’clock the night of the fire and the Clark family went to bed around 10:30. The mother said she woke up about two hours later to go to the bathroom. By then, the fire ignited near the rear door had spread upstairs.

A neighbor who heard a “boom” and then saw flames called 911.

Kelty said that, over the years, tips came in that reinforced what investigators already knew about the fire setter.

The information, he said, was not enough to make an arrest that would lead to a conviction.

“You just don’t do that type of crime and not talk about it, like the arson on Stewart Avenue,” Kelty said, drawing a similarity to the fire that killed six members of the Crawford family on Jan. 23. “It’s so over the top ,you end up talking about it. It’s intended as a scare tactic, but when you start a fire, you can’t control it.”

An 18-year-old neighbor of the Crawfords’ is charged with that crime and, according to his mother, confessed to setting the fire. A source has said the arson was the result of a dispute over a stolen cell phone.

The Clark double homicide from 2002 will be featured this week by Crime Stoppers of Greater Youngstown. Tipsters who call (330) 746-CLUE receive a code number.

Up to $2,000 is being offered as a reward.

A $5,000 reward is also available from the Ohio Blue Ribbon Arson Committee, said Capt. Alvin Ware, head of the city’s arson bureau. The committee is a coalition of insurance companies.

“We’re still working it with the homicide investigator as an active case,” Ware said. “We got tips not long ago, but they didn’t pan out.”

Kelty said it’s a case where two children died because of the actions of adults.

“I’m not going to let it go. It’s just one of those cases I’ll never forget,” the homicide detective said. “There’s always a constant reminder about two little dead kids.”

meade@vindy.com