Woman Charged in Fatal Day Care Fire Previously Started Fire at High School

March 3, 2011 — -- High school classmates of Jessica Tata, the woman charged in connection to the fatal day care fire that left four toddlers dead, describe an isolated teen who once set fire to the school's bathroom.

"She was kind of like a bully," a former classmate said. "If you were in her way, she would have no problem bumping and mowing you over. She would just beeline to where she was going and not even care if anybody was in her way."

Tata is a fugitive. She is believed to have fled to Nigeria over the past weekend. The 22-year-old Houston woman is facing seven charges of reckless injury to a child and three charges of child endangerment for the fatal Feb. 24 fire at her home day care.

Tata started high school at Taylor High School in Katy, Texas in 2002. During her freshmen year, classmates said that Tata started a fire in the girl's bathroom.

"She was just a mean person. She didn't really have a lot of friends. I think that's kind of why she did the fire incident," said the former classmate, who asked that her name not be used.

Taylor High School officials would not confirm Tata's role in the fire because of student privacy concerns, but they did confirm that a fire occurred at the school on Dec. 10, 2002 in the girl's bathroom.

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Ron Tata, the brother of the fugitive, was a basketball star at the high school when his sister allegedly started the fire, a classmate said.

"He punched the trophy case when he found out it was his sister," the former classmate said.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Jessica Tata admitted to the arson in 2003 and became an "adjudicated delinquent." Tata served three years of probation for the offense, the Houston Chronicle reported.

On Tata's application to open a day care, she made no mention of the arson which is an offense that likely would have prevented her from opening a day care center, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said.

"In February of 2010, Jess Tata applied for registration. At that time, we would run a criminal background check and we did and it would include juvenile history," Patrick Crimmins, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said. "There was nothing about the arson charge or any type of probation in the criminal background check"