An alleged marijuana-seeking mom has been charged in the death of her twin sons in a house fire.

Dalawna Berran-Lett, 32, allegedly locked her boys inside their home for almost an hour while she tried to track down her missing marijuana stash, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

But while Berran-Lett was out on her pot-retrieval mission, her boys turned on the stove in their house. Grease on the stove caught fire, and soon the entire home was engulfed in flames.

All it took was 15 minutes for the house to catch fire.

Berran-Lett has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. While a manslaughter charge requires malicious intent, also known as malice aforethought, an involuntary manslaughter charge involves recklessness or criminal negligence.

On potential defense that Berran-Lett’s lawyer may try to assert relates to the level of recklessness when leaving one’s kids alone for a brief period of time. After all, many parents assume that nothing bad could happen if they step away for just a few minutes.

In Berran-Lett’s case, she allegedly locked her boys inside her home while she went looking for her marijuana – which she believed her 15-year-old daughter had taken from her purse. Berran-Lett chose not to bring the boys along because “it was too cold outside,” the Post-Gazette reports.

This wasn’t the first time that Berran-Lett had left her twins alone at home while she went on a marijuana-inspired trek. She allegedly admitted to police that she’d also recently left the boys alone when she went to buy some cigarette-rolling papers.

Related Resources:

  • DA says Pa. mom was chasing teen daughter who stole pot when twins, 3, died alone in fire (The Associated Press)
  • Boy Kept in Dog Cage Dies; Dad Gets 80 Years (FindLaw’s Blotter)
  • What Is an Affirmative Defense? (FindLaw’s Blotter)
  • Marijuana DUI: 1 Dead, 1 Arrested in WA (FindLaw’s Blotter)

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