Toronto Police Charge Mother After Infant Dies in House Fire

A young Toronto woman has been charged after her four-month-old baby died in a house fire, police say.

Police say Kathrynn Quita Batugal, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder and “arson/fire disregard for human life.”

Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop told reporters last week that Batugal and the baby were rescued from the fire, but the child didn’t survive.

“Upon arrival, our crews were met with heavy heat and flame. At the rear of the structure, our crews made immediate entry to conduct our primary search. During our primary search, we rescued both an infant and a young female,” Jessop said.

“Our crews immediately removed the infant and the female, transferred to the care of Toronto Paramedic Services where life-saving measures were immediately initiated.”

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The infant was taken to hospital but pronounced dead. Batugal was also taken to hospital with serious injuries, according to police.

“These are tough days,” Jessop told reporters. “They are tough days for our crews—not only the firefighters but also the police officers and the paramedics. A vast majority of the responders on scene early this morning have children.”

Toronto Paramedic Service said three other people were also assessed at the scene of the fire.

Officials have not yet released the cause of the house fire.

Batugal was scheduled to appear remotely at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Oct. 29, the police news release said.

The TPS has asked anyone with information to contact police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477.

The dashboard shows that there were 59 homicides in all of 2023. That number was the same in 2022.

It’s not the first case where an Ontario mother was charged in the infant’s death in 2024.

In January, York Regional Police laid first-degree murder charges against an unidentified person in the death of a six-month-old boy at a home in Vaughan.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.