Woman sentenced to life for fire that killed grandmother and 2 boys in Lansing

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - The woman who was convicted of setting fire to a home that killed two young boys and their grandmother in September 2020 has learned her fate.

On Wednesday, Judge Clinton Canady III sentenced Abbieana Williams to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In April, Williams was convicted of three counts of arson and three counts of first-degree murder after taking less than two hours to deliberate. Under Michigan’s state law, Willams was sentenced to life in prison without parole because of the first-degree murder conviction.

More: Woman convicted of murder in fatal Lansing house fire

Trial testimony obtained by the Lansing State Journal revealed Williams threw a brick through the home of Melissa Westen, 53. Williams then asked a neighbor to borrow a lighter and set Westen’s couch on fire.

The house was quickly fully engulfed in flames with Westen and her two grandchildren, Aston Griffin, 8, and Jesse Kline IV, 4, inside. All three died from smoke inhalation according to Michael Markey, a medical examiner with Sparrow.

Background: Two boys and 53-year-old woman die in Lansing house fire

Her attorney, Duane Silverthorn, can appeal the conviction.

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