Prosecutors said that the teenage daughter of a Philadelphia police officer admitted Tuesday in court that she set the fire that killed her father.
The fire happened March 19 in the Oxford Circle home of Officer Tyrone Talington.
Brittany Talington, Tyrone Talington's daughter, is charged with murder, arson and related offenses.
Homicide detectives took Talington's statement just hours after a predawn blaze destroyed her family's home.
Talington, 14, got out of the fire. But her father, a nine-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, did not.
"She stated that she intentionally set a fire in two separate locations and, ultimately, that was the fire that caused her father's death," said Jacqueline Coelho, the assistant district attorney.
Prosecutors said that the first fire was a burning paper towel in a plastic bag on the first floor. The second was another burning towel on the second floor.
According to her statement, Talington said she was angry at her father after he disciplined her for selling her cell phone.
"She lost her father. Of course, she's going through something very serious, very disturbing, and we want to get her that help. That's why we want to get her back to juvenile," said Scott Reid, Talington's attorney.
"By law, you are charged as an adult when you are charged with homicide, and at this time she is held for court as an adult," Coelho said.
Talington has support from her large, extended family but nobody made a comment when they left court Tuesday.
Talington told police she never knew her father was home when she set the fires to harm herself.
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