A West Chester mother has been sentenced after her two children were killed in a 2022 apartment fire, according to our Cincinnati media partner, WCPO.
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Ashley Riles was sentenced to 6 years in prison for manslaughter and child endangerment.
“I’m not concerned about whether she’s going to get these kids back, quite frankly, because I don’t think she should not have them,” Judge Noah Powers said.
In September, Riles pleaded guilty to the charges, and a judge reduced her bail, allowing her to be released on her own recognizance, WCPO reported.
This release allowed Riles to participate in supervised visits with her surviving children before her sentencing.
During sentencing, Powers said Riles created a death trap for her children on the day of the fire.
“The court believes that she decided, for whatever reason, to move away from her children that morning and leave them in that position,” Powers said.
Riles pleaded guilty to the charges, which carried a maximum penalty of 36 months in prison and a $10,000 fine, WCPO reported.
It is also scheduled to be subject to mandatory post-release control.
On September 17, 2022, fire crews responded to an apartment complex following reports of a fire.
When crews arrived, crews found smoke coming from the doors and windows of one of the apartments, WCPO reported.
The West Chester Police Department released body camera footage of the incident as they were the first to respond.
The footage shows an officer asking if there was anyone inside the apartment but receiving no answer.
The officer kicked in the door and called out to see if anyone was inside, but there was no response, WCPO reported.
According to officials, four children were found alone inside the apartment.
They were rescued within eight minutes of crews arriving and then taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
4-year-old Bryson Brooks and 2-year-old Aliya Encarnacion died from their injuries. Two children, ages 6 and 9, survived.
Investigators said there were no adults in the home at the time of the fire.
Riles claimed she left the house for less than 20 minutes.
“There was no intentional harm. There was no abuse on her part. She was never alleged to have touched or hurt any of her children. I can confirm as her attorney that this was an extremely devastating situation,” Riles’ attorney, Alex Deardorff, said in court in March. for her”.
