Crime & Law

Murder Charges Filed Against Chicago Man Who Allegedly Set House Ablaze, Killing a Woman and Injuring Her Granddaughter

(WTTW News)

A Chicago man is facing murder charges after he allegedly tossed a Molotov cocktail into a Bridgeport home owned by his girlfriend’s mother, igniting a blaze that killed a woman and forced a 12-year-old girl to jump out of a second-story window to survive.

Cordale Nichols, 37, will be detained pending trial following his arrest on charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, attempted murder and arson stemming from the June 15 fire that left Charnette Walker dead.

According to Cook County prosecutors, Nichols was dating Walker’s daughter and the pair got into an argument Friday morning over the bill of a motel where they had been staying. That argument continued throughout the day over Facebook voice and video calls in which Nichols allegedly threatened to harm his girlfriend.-

That evening, the woman decided to try to make up with Nichols, but was unable to locate him. Prosecutors said Nichols’ Ventra card was used on both train and bus lines headed toward a Chicago Housing Authority housing complex at 31st and Green streets where Walker lived.

Around 2:18 a.m. Saturday, Nichols was allegedly seen on surveillance footage lighting an item, later identified as a 7UP bottle, on fire and tossing it through the front living room window of Walker’s home in the 3100 block of South Green Street.

Walker was sleeping in her bedroom directly above the family room when Nichols allegedly threw the item — described by prosecutors as an improvised incendiary device — into the home. She was unable to escape and died in the fire.

A second victim in the home — the 12-year-old daughter of Nichols’ girlfriend — was also sleeping on the second floor. Nearby residents who saw the fire spreading helped place a mattress under the girl’s window so she was able to jump to safety, according to prosecutors.

She was taken to a local hospital where she was treated for her burns.

Outside the home, investigators recovered clothing items Nichols had previously been seen wearing, according to prosecutors, and his girlfriend allegedly identified him on surveillance footage that captured his path to the Green Street home.

Nichols was arrested within an hour of the fire. He appeared at a court hearing Monday, where a judge ordered that he be detained in jail during the pendency of his case.

Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431

---