REMARKS OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY
ARREST OF NICOLE CHUMINSKI
MAY 9, 2008

Late this morning, I approved an arrest warrant charging NICOLE CHUMINSKI (D.O.B. 5/19/82) of South Boston with the April 6 murders of 14-year-old Acia Johnson and her two-year-old sister, Sophia Johnson, as well as a single count of arson of a dwelling. We expect to arraign her in South Boston District Court on Monday.

These charges reflect witness statements, testimony before the Suffolk County Grand Jury, physical evidence, and forensic examination of that evidence - all of which indicates that, in the early morning hours of April 6, Nicole Chuminski deliberately and maliciously set a fire at 154 West Sixth St. That fire spread rapidly, soon engulfing the entire building. Acia and Sophia were trapped on the third floor where, in a heartbreaking tragedy, they succumbed to the flames.

Beginning that sad morning, members of my office, the Boston Police Homicide Unit, and the Boston Fire Department Arson Squad launched an investigation that continues even today. They followed leads on the streets of Boston, behind the closed doors of the Suffolk County Grand Jury, and in crime laboratories. They left no stone unturned in their search for the truth.

What they learned is that Chuminski and the victim's mother had an argument in the hours preceding the fire. They obtained evidence that Chuminski was present near the scene around the time of the fire. And they determined that an accelerant found on Chuminski's clothes after the fire was consistent with an accelerant discovered on the door frame of 154 West Sixth St. These facts - as well as others we cannot divulge today - support the complaints obtained this afternoon in South Boston District Court.

This was and remains a complex, multi-faceted investigation. Its success would not have been possible without the close cooperation of the various agencies involved - Boston Fire and the Arson Squad; Boston Police Homicide and the squad led by Sgt. Det. Paul Donovan; and Assistant DA David Fredette of my Homicide Unit, who is leading the ongoing grand jury investigation. I must also extend my appreciation to the Massachusetts State Police, whose chemists and crime lab allowed for sophisticated scientific testing of certain evidence.

The investigation is not over. Much work remains to be done. Today we have reached a milestone, however, and we know the day is near when we will speak in court for two young children whose lives were tragically, senselessly taken, and who died with only each other to cling to in their final moments.

--30--

All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

What's the lesbian equivalent of the Yiddish phrase "shanda for the goyim"? I fear that the Glenn Becks and Nancy Graces and Sean Hannitys of the world are going to glom onto this tragedy and use it to talk endlessly about how it means All Lesbians Are Evil.

DA had asked she be held without bail. Next court date is June 19.