A 15-year-old girl was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Sunil Scarce charged with 15 counts of murder, stemming from the deadly fire at the Mahdia Secondary School girls’ dorm.

In accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act, she is afforded certain protections, and as such, her name, address, other particulars, and photograph are prohibited from being published.

The juvenile was not required to plead to the indictable charges when she appeared virtually at the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts on Monday.

The girl was remanded to a juvenile holding centre. Her next court date is July 5. The young murder accused was represented by Attorneys-at-Law Dexter Todd and Dexter Smartt.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) had previously reported that on Sunday, March 21 at around 23:15 hours, firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire but the building was already engulfed in flames.

A total of 19 children died—18 teen girls and a five-year-old boy. Fourteen of them died at the scene while five of them died while receiving treatment at the Mahdia District Hospital.

Several others were injured.

The GFS determined that the fire was maliciously set. The dormitory housed 59 students. At the time of the fire, there were 56 females and a five-year-old boy inside.

According to the Fire Service, the dormitory’s 26 windows were heavily grilled and the five doors were locked with keys