Detectives continue to investigate what led to a fire that killed a mother and her son at an apartment complex in north Phoenix on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Phoenix Police Department, on July 12, 2023, at about 12:51 p.m. officers responded to an apartment fire near 2nd Avenue and Bell Road. When officers got to the apartment, they assisted with scene security while fire personnel worked the fire. A woman and her young son were inside the home at the time the fire started.
Ashley Sutter, 37, was taken to the hospital in extreme critical condition. Sutter succumbed to her injuries the following day on July 13, 2023. Sutter’s 3-year-old son, Maximus Hodges, was also inside the apartment and had passed away on scene from fire related injuries.
Arson investigators with Phoenix police and fire responded to the scene to investigate the origins and cause of the fire.
The Office of the Medical Examiner also responded to conduct its own investigation.
The incident is still under investigation.