--
Dec. 26--The teddy bear left on the porch was the kind of present that 4-year-old Dashawn Francisco might have opened yesterday morning.
The poinsettias left out front -- maybe the adults would have appreciated those.
But on this Christmas, the gifts at 90 Wisconsin Ave. in Franklinton were only memorials.
"We're in mourning right now," said Steve Mixon, 51.
Columbus firefighters went to battle a blaze at 11:45 p.m. Saturday and found the bodies of little Dashawn; his mother, Jerrica Francisco, 22; and Demetrius Chappell, 33, Francisco's boyfriend.
Investigators did not know the fire's cause yesterday.
Mixon is Jerrica Francisco's stepfather. He and other family members said the three people had lived in the house for a few months.
Investigators had not been able to determine yesterday whether the three were squatters or renters, said Battalion Chief Mike Fowler. Natural-gas service to the house had been turned off, and it was not clear whether the home had electricity, he said.
Chappell's mother, Darlene Chappell, 51, said her son was paying rent to live in the house but might not have signed a lease with the landlord. She had warned her son that the house was run-down and possibly unsafe, she said. The residents had difficulty staying warm in it.
The fire began in a downstairs room of the two-story house, Fowler said. It appeared as if all the occupants' possessions were in that room, he said.
Jerrica Francisco had muscular dystrophy and got around with the help of a wheelchair, said her brother, Jerry Moss, 21.
"Her condition didn't stop her from doing anything," said Veronica Johnson, 48, her aunt. "She would just get in the wheelchair and go about her business."
Jerrica Francisco liked to play cards and listen to all kinds of music, Moss said.
Dashawn had his mother's joy of life, Moss said. He'd walk around smiling and laughing.
"They were best friends," he said of his sister and his nephew. "That was her only child."
Chappell and Francisco had been dating about four years, Darlene Chappell said. They had lived with different family members and lived for at least a short time in her son's car.
Demetrius Chappell wanted to provide for Jerrica and Dashawn and jumped at the chance to rent the house, his mother said. But she learned yesterday that Demetrius had been hoping to move them to a different place.
There have been at least 20 deaths from fires in Franklinton since 2001, according to Dispatch records.
