A woman accused of starting a series of house fires near Wrigley Field during the weekend was charged Monday with four counts of murder, authorities said.Witnesses had reported seeing an unkempt woman wearing clear plastic bags on her feet near three small fires that broke out in the area late Friday and early Saturday, according to Edward O'Donnell, commander of the police department's bomb and arson unit.
The fourth blaze, reported Saturday morning within walking distance of the others, killed four people in a three-story apartment house. It was started in newspapers or other debris on a stairwell landing between the second and third floors, fire officials said.
Mary Smith, 43,was questioned after the fires and charged Monday with two counts of aggravated arson and four counts of first-degree murder, the Cook County state's attorneys office said.
Police had brought the woman in for questioning late Saturday after finding her with "an odor of smoke," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said.
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