Trial Begins For Fairfield Mother Accused Of Murder

Shetarra James' murder trial got under way this morning in Solano County Superior Court, a year and a half after the Fairfield apartment fire that claimed the lives of her three young children and niece.

James, 25, faces four counts of second-degree murder and child abuse leading to the death of her three children -- 4-year-old Robert Charles Jr., 2-year-old Nevaeh Nunn, and 1-year-old Keviana Morgan -- and her sister Latisha James' daughter, 2-year-old Natalie Rogers.

Solano County Deputy District Attorney Karen Jensen told the jury during opening statements this morning that James and her sister neglected the children the night of April 28, 2010, leaving them alone in their Fairfield apartment on Delaware Street where lit candles were burning.

Defense attorney Amy Morton painted James as a loving parent who was "the best mother she knew how to be" and who "had no idea that something
horrible would happen" when she left the apartment for 10 to 15 minutes.

Jurors also heard testimony this morning from half a dozen first responders who were dispatched to the fire, all of whom described a chaotic scene with thick smoke, flames and people yelling.

Fairfield fire Capt. John Sturdee testified this morning that he found the three youngest children inside the apartment, their bodies charred and "unsalvageable."

He told jurors how he scooped up James' 4-year-old, who was very badly burned but who appeared to have a slight chance of survival. The boy later died at the hospital.

James, who was wearing a black sweatshirt in court today with her hair in cornrows and pulled back in a bun, wept quietly as Sturdee testified.