Twin Sisters Face Murder Charges For Leaving Their 3 Toddlers Alone To Die In House FIRE

'Indifference': Akeevia (left) and Takeevia Abner (right) were taken into custody after a house fire killed their three children, whom they had left on their own

Twin sisters have been arrested for murder after their three young children were left alone to die in a fire in their home.

Akeevia Lajoseia Abner and Tekeevia Lajoseialan Abner, 18, from Atmore, Alabama were taken into custody on Monday by the state fire marshal.

Three-year-old Aniyia Abner, three-year-old Takia Abner and 22-month-old Michael died in a house fire while their mothers were out.

A preliminary investigation indicated an oven left open could be the source of the blaze that killed the children.

Investigators suggested the oven could have been left open to keep the children warm.

They also found a mattress inside the house blocked the door, so the children would have been unable to escape.

In a statement, Escambia County District Attorney Steve Billy said the women showed ‘an extreme indifference’ to the children's lives and ‘created a grave risk of death to the children’ by leaving them alone.

Tragedy: Aniyia Abner, 3, died of smoke inhalation after her family's home caught alight

Innocent: Three-year-old Takia (top) and Michael Abner, 22 months, also died

Scott Pilgreen, an assistant state fire marshal, said one child was found in a bedroom and the other two in a hallway.

When fire personnel arrived just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, they found the home engulfed in flames and all three children unconscious, he said.

The children were transported to Atmore Community Hospital, where each died a short time later.

The preliminary cause of death has been listed as smoke inhalation, but all the children suffered burns as well.

Devastated: The three children all suffered burns when the house caught alight. An oven door had been left open, possibly as a heat source.

It was not immediately known which children belong to which mother or if either woman has any other children not present in the home at the time of the blaze.

Both women were taken into custody by the State Fire Marshal and booked into the Escambia County, Ala., Detention Center. They were each arrested on three counts of reckless murder.