Mother Admits Guilty Role in the Deaths of her Two Children

Orgal Opata

On February 28, 2010, at 6:06 am, CMPD and the Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) were dispatched to a house located at 920 Rowan Street in response to a house fire. There were four children located at the scene who had been inside the house at the time of the fire.  Two of the children, Miracle (age 7) Elisha (age 4) were able to escape, however; their two younger brothers, 14-month-old Gabriel Hawthorne and 26-month-old Josiah Hawthorne, were found deceased inside the house.

The Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for both Gabriel and Josiah Hawthorne to be smoke inhalation/carbon monoxide toxicity due to house fire. The fire investigation performed by the CFD determined that the fire started in the bedroom where the children had been sleeping.

Orgal Paulette Opata, age 27, is the biological mother of all four children and lived with them at the house located at 920 Rowan Street. Opata left the four children home alone in the early morning hours of February 28, 2010, while she went out with a friend. While left unattended, one of the children began to play with the heater and it caught fire. Opata was charged in connection with the house fire and resulting deaths of Josiah and Gabriel. Opata admitted that she left her children alone that night while she went out and, that when she left, the kerosene heater was on.

Opata stated that the kerosene heater was the only heat source in the home and that she and her children had spent that entire winter living at 920 Rowan Street without central heat. They also had no hot water at their house except for a couple of weeks in November 2009. The house they had lived in the previous winter had no central heat and they used space heaters at that house in an attempt to stay warm.

Opata chose to spend money on things other than the heat during the winter months (her nails, hair, clubs, etc.) while her children were subjected to living in the cold. On February 28, 2010, by leaving the children alone with a kerosene heater, Opata acted in such a reckless and careless manner as to show a thoughtless disregard for consequences and a heedless indifference to the safety of her children and is therefore guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter for the deaths of Josiah and Gabriel Hawthorne.

Opata plead guilty to two counts of Involuntary Manslaughter, three counts of Felony Child Abuse and four counts of Exposing Children to Fire. All of the sentences are in the aggravated range under North Carolina’s sentencing guidelines and will run consecutively for a total prison sentence of 10-13 years in prison.  The aggravating factors that apply to this case are N.C.G.S. 15A-1340.16(d)(6): the offense proximately caused serious injury to a firefighter; (d)(11): the victims were very young; (d)(15): the defendant took advantage of a position of trust or confidence, including a domestic relationship, to commit the offense.

Opata was sentenced by The Honorable W. Robert Bell, Superior Court Judge, of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. Prior to this case being resolved in court, the assigned prosecutor met with Josiah and Gabriel’s biological father, Jerry Hawthorne, as well as their paternal grandmother, Alesia Greene.

** Opata was arrested in October of 2009 when her baby was found wandering alone on the streets in a diaper and t-shirt.  She was charged with 3 counts of neglect.  Where was DSS???  Opata always had nice hair and nails but couldn't afford to pay for heat and DSS found her a decent mother?  She had four children at home but it was more important for her to go out clubbing, pick up a guy and go off to a motel, while her two children died in a house fire AND WE GIVE HER ONLY 10 YEARS IN JAIL???  This is sick!  Who is advocating for the children in this city?