A man injured after he poured a flammable liquid on some victims, setting a fire that helped kill one woman and badly burned two of her children in the Lawndale neighborhood early Saturday has died, officials said.
Nathaniel Beller, 29, was pronounced dead at 12:10 p.m. at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, after being injured the fire in the 4200 block of West 21st Place, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. Beller was suspected of setting the fire that left Taniya Johnson dead and two children badly hurt, according to the spokesman.
Johnson died from thermal injuries from the fire and sharp force injuries in a homicide, the medical examiner's office determined today. The children, ages 4 and 9, remained in "very critical'' condition Sunday night in the pediatric intensive care unit, said Stroger spokeswoman Marisa Kollias.
"The hospital medical team is doing everything they can, obviously, in a very difficult situation,'' Kollias said. "It's very tragic.''
Beller had previously been convicted of domestic battery against the victim, and had an order of protection entered against him in the case, according to court records. The two children had been taken into the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services Sept. 11 after allegations of abuse against Beller, who was believed to be the father of at least one of the children, said Dave Clarkin, a spokesman for DCFS.
Although the medical examiner's office listed Beller's home address as the address of the fire, court records indicate he also recently has lived in the 4500 block of West Jackson Boulevard.
An autopsy will be conducted Monday that will determined the cause and manner of Beller's death. The woman suffered burns over 80 percent of her body and was first taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and then to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where she died, officials said. She was identified by the medical examiner's office as Johnson, 33, of the 4500 block of West Harrison Street.
Beller, who also has gone by the names Nathaniel Beler, Jeremy Murphy and Nathaniel Beller Jr., pleaded guilty in 2007 to misdemeanor domestic battery against Johnson, according to court records. The battery took place in a home in the 1200 block of South Kolin Avenue, about 8:35 a.m. on July 28, 2007, according to police records. Beller had an order of protection entered against him on her Johnson's behalf, and was found guilty of violating the order of protection in June 2008, according to court records. While the original order was dismissed in February 2009 and Beller completed his probation in September 2009.
After the order of protection ended, however, a special order on behalf of Johnson was entered by Judge James Patrick Murphy on behalf of Johnson, according to court records.
In the fire Saturday, a girl, the younger of the two children, was taken to Stroger hospital with burns over her entire body, officials said. A 9-year-old boy was also brought there, suffering from burns to 35 percent of his body, fire officials said. They were both listed in critical condition. Johnson was the mother of the two children, officials said.
Beller suffered burns to 90 percent of his body and was listed in critical condition at Mount Sinai before also being taken to Stroger. Two women, 60 and 84, were taken in fair-to-serious condition to Saint Anthony Hospital.
Authorities said the fire was being investigated as an arson, and that it appears someone poured an accelerant around the apartment and possibly on the children. Relatives have told investigators that someone in the house had mental issues and had threatened to burn down the house, according to authorities, citing preliminary information.Authorities said an empty gas can was found behind the home.
In addition to the domestic battery conviction, Beller had been arrested twice before in 2003 and 2004, on domestic battery charges, but both cases were dismissed, according to court records. He served time in prison after convictions on drug charges in cases from 2001 and 2003, according to court records.
Beller currently was facing charges of misdemeanor aggravated assault of a police officer and resisting arrest stemming from an incident about 11:30 p.m. April 3 at a liquor store in the 500 block of South Kostner Avenue in the Harrison Police District, according to police and court records. He had been scheduled to appear in Cook County Criminal Court Branch 43 in connection with the case on Feb. 15, according to court records.
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