New York officials examining the possible murder-suicide fire

New York officials examining the possible murder-suicide fireAccording to the media reports, New York officials say they are examining evidence to determine who was responsible for a suspected murder-suicide fire that wiped out a Staten Island family.

The New York Daily News reported on Monday that a charred diary and possible suicide note found in the home on Thursday may have been written by Leisha Jones, the mother of four children who died in the house fire, and not by her oldest son.

It has also been reported that investigators initially thought the oldest child, C. J. Jones, 14, had slashed his two younger siblings' throats before setting the house on fire and cutting his own throat. Leisha Jones and a 2-year-old son also died in the blaze.

Now, NYPD officials say it may have been the mother.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said, "We believe that the badly charred note and diary found in the wreckage of the fire were written by the same person, the mother."

Pressure on the teen to help raise his siblings created friction between him and his mother before the tragedy, C. J.'s father said.

His son was overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising his three younger siblings and wanted to join him, but his mother refused, said Earlston Raymond, who lives in Jamaica.

Raymond said, "Leisha never wanted to send back C. J. I know C. J. wasn't the one to kill himself and kill his brother and sisters."

They refused to believe she played a role in her family's death, Leisha Jones's family said. (With Inputs from Agencies)