That person was Donna Baldeo who lived a quiet life with her 22-year-old son Jailall Lewis and eight-year-old daughter Bunnie Sue Terry. By all accounts the family was close and had no enemies. But several weeks prior to the fire, a disturbing incident may have given someone motive to attack Donna. Donna Baldeo worked at Wells Fargo Bank for ten years. She was currently a manager at a drive-through branch located outside of Houston. On December 22nd, Donna was the first to arrive at work. She immediately noticed an odd piece of paper lying in front of the bank’s entrance. Encased in a protective plastic sheath was a note. It demanded all the money from the bank – and if anyone called the police they would face dire consequences. Donna retreated to her car. Five minutes later another employee showed up. They drove to a nearby convenience store and contacted their supervisor who called police. Donna had done exactly what the note had explicitly instructed her not to do. Authorities found no fingerprints on the note. Nor was there any clue’s as to who the author might be. The investigation never turned up a suspect. While investigators had no evidence that the suspects left the note specifically for Donna Baldeo, she is the person that found it. And in this instance, Donna Baldeo did not comply.

Five weeks later the blaze erupted in the stairwell at Donna’s apartment building. Donna’s unit was one of two located on the second floor. Two more units were downstairs. Authorities speculate that Donna’s daughter, Bunny, was awoken by the mysterious knock. Unaware of the inferno outside, she opened the door. Donna and her son, Jai, then ran into the flames, desperate to rescue her. Curtis Ford, Donna’s downstairs neighbor, witnessed the unfolding nightmare when he saw Jai's body lying on the stair landing. He grabbed his ankle and pulled him down. Curtis saw Donna repeatedly enter the flames. Horrifying screams for her youngest child went unanswered.

Emergency workers arrived at the apartment complex within minutes. Donna and her children were the only victims of the fire. Eight year-old Bunny was found dead in the stairwell. Donna and Jai had been critically burned over their entire bodies and were rushed to the hospital where Jai was pronounced dead at 10:30 that morning. Donna died a half hour later. An entire family was gone. Who would have committed such an appalling crime and why? Was this the reprisal threatened by the extortionist? Or perhaps there is another equally tragic explanation. It has been reported that over the past 3 years, 15 fires have broken out at the Chateaux Dijon Apartment complex.

UPDATE: Since we finished filming this story, there has been a major breakthrough in the case. A juvenile has confessed that he and another youth started the fire that killed Donna Baldeo and her family. Both are currently in custody. Timothy Perkins was tried as an adult in 2002 and was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in prison. His teenaged accomplice was convicted and sentenced to the Texas Youth Commission until his 18th birthday.