A Venezuelan national has been charged with manslaughter after authorities say she left her 4-year-old child home alone for 20 hours before he was killed in a house fire that broke out in Mundelein.
Aliannay P. Rodriguez, 21, of Lakemoor, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment causing death and child abandonment.
The Mundelein Police Department and Mundelein Fire Department responded around 12:20 a.m. on March 23 to the 200 block of Dalton Avenue in Mundelein for a report of a structure fire.
Mundelein Deputy Fire Chief Jeremy Lockwood said initial reports indicated a house fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters arrived in six minutes and encountered heavy fire and smoke showing from three sides of a single-story, single-family home.
Lockwood said two residents were outside and informed firefighters that a boy, later identified as Christopher Alfaro-Rodriguez, 4, of Mundelein, was still inside.
They provided Alfaro-Rodriguez’s last known location as firefighters deployed a hose line.
Fire crews begin extinguishing the fire from the front of the home to bring the main body of fire under control, Lockwood said.
They also placed a ladder to conduct operations in the area where Alfaro-Rodriguez was believed to be but the boy was not located in the initial search.
The incident was upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the box alarm level for additional fire departments to respond. The incident was eventually upgraded to the second alarm level.
A second crew advanced another hose line to begin extinguishing the fire inside the home and conducting a search of the home, Lockwood said.
Firefighters discovered that the main hallway floor had been structurally compromised due to the fire conditions.
Firefighters later located Alfaro-Rodriguez deceased in the basement, Lockwood said. The fire was declared under control around 1:30 a.m.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said in court on Friday that the child had been left home alone in the house for approximately 20 hours leading up to the fire.
Rodriguez denied that the child was left home alone but video and location evidence showed her away from the house, Facklam said.
She had been at different businesses where her boyfriend had been contracted to clean and she was working with him, Facklam said.
Facklam said surveillance video showed her at the locations and she identified herself in the surveillance photos, where the child was not seen. Rodriguez told investigators she only left the child for 20 minutes.
Another adult who was living in the home saw the child when he left on the morning of March 22. He was gone for the remainder of the day but no one told him the child was home alone and no one asked him to watch the child, Facklam said.
Alfaro-Rodriguez died as a result of smoke inhalation, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
Investigators determined an electrical issue started a fire in the home where the child “tragically perished,” Facklam said.
An adjacent residence sustained minor heat damage but remained habitable.
The mother was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for a “non-fire-related issue,” Lockwood said.
Mundelein Police Chief Jason Seeley said the mother was one of the two residents outside the home when emergency crews arrived.
The Village of Mundelein said in a statement that they were “deeply saddened” by the tragic house fire that resulted in the loss of “such a young life.”
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by this devastating loss and we extend our deepest condolences during this incredibly difficult time. The Village would like to thank all our first responders who worked tirelessly at the scene, their professionalism and dedication is deeply appreciated,” the statement said in March.
“As a community, we stand together in support of all those impacted and ask that the public to keep them in their thoughts,” the village added.
No firefighters were injured during the incident. A total of 52 firefighters responded.
A MABAS box alarm was requested for fire investigators to respond from throughout Lake County and McHenry County.
Crime scene tape was set up around the home as fire investigators, many with “arson” insignia on their uniforms, worked at the scene.
A witness reported that numerous police canines from several Lake County police departments, as well as drones, were searching the area.
Lockwood said it is unknown whether the home had working smoke detectors as the fire was too advanced by the time firefighters arrived.
“Officials remind residents of the critical importance of maintaining functional smoke detectors, as emphasized by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), to provide early warning in the event of a fire,” the fire department said.
An arrest warrant was issued for Rodriguez earlier this week charging her with the multiple felonies.
She was taken into custody at the Lake County Jail on Thursday and appeared in First Appearance Court on Friday morning.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Rodriguez pending trial, arguing she poses a danger to others and she is a willful flight risk.
Facklam said Rodriguez is from Venezuela and has minimal ties to the local community and has not been here for very long.
Rodriguez had a prior contact in 2023 with federal immigration for an alien inadmissibility but further details were not immediately known, Facklam said.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim denied the petition and released Rodriguez on pre-trial conditions during a detention hearing on Friday afternoon.
The judge noted that Rodriguez was working when she left the child home alone and called the incident “tragic” but said he is required to follow the Illinois SAFE-T Act.
Nerheim said all defendants are presumed eligible for release under the SAFE-T Act, despite how serious a charge is, unless prosecutors can show there are no conditions of release that can mitigate the threat a defendant poses.
The judge said he was surprised that prosecutors even argued that Rodriguez poses a willful flight risk and the State has “clearly not come even close to meeting their burden.” He also noted that Rodriguez has no criminal history.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said after the hearing that it is a “heartbreaking case” and the death of a child “must make us pause and reflect on how we can do better as a society.”
“I call on everyone to pay attention as to whether small children are being left at home by neighbors and friends. I want to thank the Mundelein Police Department for their excellent investigation into this difficult case. The offender’s extremely reckless actions led to the criminal charge of Involuntary Manslaughter, and she will face up to 14 years in prison,” Rinehart said.
“Detention is necessary to protect the community and to prevent the flight of the defendant. Because she lacks ties to Lake County and because she has current and former connections to South Carolina, Chicago, and Venezuela, we sought detention in light of her flight risk,” Rinehart said.
“We respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision to deny our petition to detain. Even so, a system in which a judge focuses on safety or flight risk is better than a system that distinguishes between people with access to money and without access to money,” the state’s attorney added.
Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in court again on August 27 for a preliminary hearing.