A Greensboro mother has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to a minimum of 30 year to a maximum 36 years in prison in connection with the deaths of three of her children, who died in a house fire in 2022.
Brandi Sturdivant was previously charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of her three children and felony child abuse related to multiple instances of Child Protective Services calls and neglect.
In the plea agreement hearing, attorney Kelly Thompson representing the state gave a narrative of facts that were uncovered during the investigative process of the fire.
Thompson said neighbors, not Sturdivant, were the ones who called 911 and tried to help as the fire spread. When detectives were called to the home for potential arson, they found Sturdivant falling out of her car and crying at the end of Grimsley street near a barricade. She did not have any burns or injuries as a result of the fire. The prosecution said Sturdivant told investigators she was going to kill herself. Neighbors told law enforcement that Sturdivant was “the crazy lady next door.”
The house was fully engulfed when first responders arrived and that the children were trapped inside a front master bedroom as flames blocked the ability for neighbors to get into the home. Officials said Sturdivant’s 1-year-old twins and a 4-year-old died in the fire and were found huddled together and completely burned. Autopsies found the children died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Prosecutors said Sturdivant admitted to using an oven to heat the home and it was set to 500 degrees at the time of the fire, but it was determined it was not the cause of the fire. Investigators found that the fire started in the back of the home but the exact cause could not be determined so no one faced arson charges.
The prosecution said neighbors were cooperative during the investigation and told police the children were often left home alone at night. Thompson revealed that in one of the many interviews with Sturdivant over the years, she admitted to leaving the home at night while her kids were sleeping to meet men or “sugar daddies” in hotels as a way to make money.
Ring camera footage showed Sturdivant leaving the home the morning of the fire, to take two of her older children to school, before smoke was later seen coming from it. Prosecutors also said a gasoline can was found on the front stoop, but finger prints could not be lifted from it.
Thompson referenced multiple CPS and law enforcement calls dating back to 2016, including three reports in 2022 alone. One of those calls to CPS came from Sturdivant’s mother who knew about the conditions inside. The state said Sturdivant’s mother told investigators “I knew this would happen,” when she was interviewed about the fire.
The narrative read by the prosecution also exposed a long history of warnings about poor conditions inside the home. Investigators went to the home three months before the fire for a wellness check after one of the one-year-old children was taken to the hospital. EMS was called to the home to help the children after finding they were covered in feces.
Thompson said in that incident, the one-year-old was covered in feces and had a diaper that was completely full and hadn’t been changed for an extended period of time. The doctor at the hospital who treated the child for bug bites and an infected groin area wanted to admit the child for more treatment, and called CPS to check on the state of the home before sending the child home.
Sturdivant denied the filth in the home and the prosecution said whenever she was asked by investigators, she routinely downplayed how bad the conditions were.
In September, the father of the three youngest children took custody of them temporarily, but the children returned to Sturdivant’s care in October — and CPS was called again in November — less than one month before the fire. Her children were often seen by neighbors running around in filth near the home and only partially clothed.
The state said CPS and DSS were not compliant in handing over documents about prior calls to the home in the early stages of the investigation. The state uncovered more information about eight previous calls to CPS after obtaining a court-ordered search warrant.
The state prosecutors said photos from inside the home showed mounds of animal and human feces in multiple places and cockroaches running around, making the home unfit for human habitation. Sturdivant had multiple cats, two children age seven and age nine living in the home, as well as the 4-year-old and one-year-old twins.
The state argued the deaths were the result of repeated failures and ignored warnings, calling the case completely avoidable. Judge David Hall said the case was among the most tragic he had ever heard and remarked that the children had been failed by every adult and agency they encountered.
“We have agencies to intervene and clearly that didn’t happen,” Hall said.
The court also heard from the defense, which pointed to Sturdivant’s mental health struggles, including bipolar disorder and depression, and argued she did not intend for her children to die. The defense added that Sturdivant was a single mother who worked as a prostitute to provide for her family, and the two fathers to her six children were not paying child support. Sturdivant was raised by a single parent who struggled with alcohol addiction, and her lawyers said that contributed to her upbringing.
The defense played a 911 call from a neighbor and in the audio you could hear screaming and crying and a woman’s voice the lawyers identified as Sturdivant screaming “my babies.” Several people in the courtroom, including bailiffs and the detectives that worked on the investigation were crying. Sturdivant was seen shaking her head.
Sturdivant was already on probation back in 2022 related to previous felony charges including assault with a deadly weapon and hit and run. Investigators said Sturdivant was not home at the time of the fire.
Sturdivant’s attorney asked the court to consider that she had lost three children and would live with that for the rest of her life. But prosecutors pushed for consecutive sentences, arguing the plea agreement already spared her from the maximum punishment she could have faced at trial.
The judge said not going to trial would spare a potential jury and expert witnesses from the traumatic details of the case. The judge accepted the plea and imposed two consecutive active sentences that the prosecution asked for. Sturdivant will serve at minimum 30 years in prison for three counts of second-degree murder, which also includes the child abuse charges.
The judge also ordered a mental health evaluation, continued treatment for bipolar disorder and depression, an evaluation for self-harm risk, and access to grief counseling and educational opportunities while incarcerated.
A Greensboro mother could face life in prison for the death of her three children who died in a house fire in 2022.
On Monday, March 11, 2024, Brandi Sturdivant was charged with three counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of her three children.
Sturdivant, 29, was already in jail on three counts of felony child abuse related to this case. The investigation revealed that Sturdivant was not home at the time of the fire.
Brandi Sturdivant appeared in court Tuesday, March 12, 2024, for the second-degree murder charges.
A Greensboro police detective who was at the court appearance told WXII that these new charges were filed because they recently met with the district attorney’s office, and the DA recommended she be charged with second-degree murder.
The judge said Sturdivant could face life without parole for the deaths of her three children, all under the age of 5.
The state asked the judge for Sturdivant’s bond to be set at two million dollars. The public defender’s office, which is representing Sturdivant, then asked for the judge to lower it to one million dollars, stating that Sturdivant wouldn’t even be able to pay that amount.
The judge ultimately set Sturdivant’s bond to one million dollars.
The Greensboro detective said he doesn’t anticipate more charges being filed.
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On Dec. 12, 2022, the Greensboro Police Department, Greensboro Fire Department, and Guilford County EMS were called to 2518 Grimsley St. about a building fire.
Upon arrival, fire crews found the home completely engulfed in flames and were told that there were children inside the home.
After the fire was contained, investigators located three children inside dead.
The district attorney’s office said the fire was around the door frame of the bedroom all three kids were sleeping in. She said if they wanted to get out, they couldn’t have. When firefighters got inside through a window, all three were found dead: two 1-year-old twins and a 4-year-old died.
The DA also said that the Department of Social Services got a call weeks before the fire that children were left home alone routinely.
According to neighbors, Sturdivant was the only adult who lived at the home and was rarely at home and often left the kids home alone at night.
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A cause of the fire hasn’t been released though Sturdivant admitted to police to using the oven to heat the home since she couldn’t afford heat.
The Greensboro police detective told WXII on March 12, 2024, that the Greensboro Fire Department is currently listing the fire as undetermined.
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