Mom Loses All 5 Kids on Her Birthday after Desperately Trying to Save Them — Family Is ‘Devastated'

A 34-year-old woman was left heartbroken on a day that should have been one filled with love and celebration. She lost all five of her kids after trying to save them from a disaster.

When a woman woke up on the day of her 34th birthday, what was meant to be a day filled with love and celebrations turned out to be something far more sinister and devastating.

Sabrina Dunigan's five children from East St. Louis were in their apartment in the early morning hours in early August 2021 when something happened that would alter their family forever.

When Dunigan saw something wrong in her apartment where her five children, 20-month-old Loy'El, 4-year-old Jabari, 8-year-old twins Nevaeh and Heaven, and 9-year-old Dontae, were sleeping, she immediately sprung to action.

What Happened to Dunigan and Her Children?

Dunigan was not home when a fire broke out in the early morning hours in her apartment building. She had gone to fetch another adult from work, and when she returned, she saw her unit on fire. She ran back inside to try and save her children.

It was Dunigan's 34th birthday, and although the family had expected to celebrate later that day, they grieved instead. Dunigan ran into her apartment and suffered burns on her arms and legs but could not reach her children in time.

Her father and his wife had promised to look after the children while Dunigan was out as they lived in the same apartment building, but Dunigan's father admitted that they had fallen asleep. Dunigan's father and his wife jumped from a second-story window to escape the fire.

Tragically, four of Dunigan's children died at the scene, and another died from injuries at the hospital later. Investigators believed it was an electrical fire and cited a lack of smoke detectors as the reason for the children's deaths.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, they found two of Dunigan's children dead in their bedroom and two more unconscious on the floor. As they transported the unconscious children from the building, they, too, passed away.

Talking about how their family was feeling after the ordeal, Dunigan's aunt, Sheila Dunigan, shared:

"Our family has never taken a hit like this, ever. We are devastated. We are broken."

The chief firefighter on the scene also said the firefighters had taken the incident hard. The Dunigan family then asked for privacy to mourn the children as more details about the fire unfolded.

What Did People Say About the Mom?

When Sheila shared her statement about the family's feelings surrounding the children's deaths, she also came to her niece's defense, saying that she had loved and cared so much for her children.

Sheila had to defend her niece after Dunigan was charged with five counts of endangering the life and health of her children. Dunigan's father wondered why anybody would want to do that to her after she had already lost all her children.

He said that his daughter had lost everything, and they were trying to remove the one thing she could hold onto—her freedom. Dunigan's bail was set at $750,000.

This was not the first time fire had threatened the family. A year and a half before this incident, there were reports that Dunigan's ex-boyfriend had purposely tried to set her home on fire. A family member confirmed that the case had been settled, and they were grateful nobody had been hurt back then.

Meanwhile, another one of Dunigan's aunts pleaded with the public to be there for her niece instead of rallying against her:

"I just want everybody to pray for my niece because this is a tragedy."

A Facebook post showing the children's funeral revealed a heartbroken Dunigan wailing next to her children's coffins as two older women held her and a man stood behind her to support her.

Investigators believed the fire originated in the family's front room, but the cause remained unknown. After the fire, Dunigan never returned to the home she shared with her children and stayed with family members instead. We pray the family has found the healing they so badly needed.

Tragically, Dunigan was not the only mother to lose all five of her children to a fire. Samantha Stephenson suffered a similar tragedy. Read her story here.