Left inset: Taquida Hendrix (WHAM/YouTube). Right inset: Malakai Stovall (GoFundMe). Background: The home Taquida Hendrix is accused of setting on fire, resulting in the death of 5-year-old Malakai Stovall (WHAM/YouTube).
A woman from New York who mistakenly set a house on fire in a supposed act of revenge for an alleged attack on her father, leading to the death of a sleeping 5-year-old boy, was convicted on Thursday of murder and arson.
Monroe County jurors needed just 30 minutes in total—15 on Wednesday and another 15 on Thursday—to find Taquida Hendrix, 31, guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree arson for the July 2024 fire in Rochester that claimed the life of Malakai Stovall, according to NBC affiliate WHEC.
“It does make me feel a little bit better than I thought it would,” said Malakai’s mother, Brianna Akers, to WHEC. “At least they’re able to hear and see the same thing I did, that she is guilty of murder and arson and everything she was charged with.”
Hendrix displayed no emotion as the verdict was announced on Thursday following the swift jury deliberation, as reported by WHEC. Her sister, Tiakayla Hendrix, 21, testified against her last week after agreeing to a deal regarding her own role, which involved accompanying Taquida Hendrix to Malakai’s residence. Another individual, Roy Chambers, joined the siblings, seeking revenge for an alleged earlier attack on the Hendrix siblings’ father, according to the prosecution.
The trio thought a person involved in the alleged attack lived at Malakai’s home, but it turned out they had the wrong house.
“The defendant’s sister corroborated our case theory, confirming that the defendant is responsible for starting this fire,” Assistant District Attorney Kevin Sunderland stated during the trial, as reported by NBC affiliate WHAM. “She poured the flammable liquid that was ignited outside the victim’s home, and this catastrophe is because of her actions,” Sunderland noted.
Flames ripped through Stovall’s house on July 28 at around 2 a.m. after Taquida Hendriz poured gasoline on the two-story residence and set it ablaze. Tiakayla Hendrix and Chambers kept a lookout, according to prosecutors. Malakai, who was tucked into bed on the second floor, was severely injured in the fire and died several days later at a local hospital.
“My baby was up there [in the house] for 21 minutes with no heartbeat,” Akers, told WHAM on July 31.
Tiakayla Hendrix and Chambers were each charged with murder and arson, but they agreed to plea deals last month on the arson charge in exchange for their testimony against Taquida Hendrix, according to prosecutors. Tiakayla Hendrix was accused of purchasing the lighter used to spark the fire, but she did not take part in setting it.
According to her lawyer, “She certainly did not know there was a child inside that building at the time,” per WHAM. “She had no role in actually setting the fire itself,” the lawyer said.
Karen Mitchell, Malakai’s grandmother, told local media outlets that the family was shocked by the plea deals and expected all three individuals to go on trial.
“I just cried. I mean, it’s very bittersweet,” Mitchell told WHAM. “I want them to understand it wasn’t just, you know, this 5-year-old, or this little boy, who died in a fire; he was a little boy who lived, and he loved life.”
