GREENSBORO, N.C. — A former UNC Greensboro student serving life in prison for a deadly fire at a student housing complex is getting a second chance.
Prank turned deadly
Janet Danahey set the Campus Walk apartments ablaze back in 2002. She said it was only meant to be a prank to get back at an ex-boyfriend. It turned into something much worse.
The fire spread to the entire building, killing sisters Rachel and Donna Llewellyn, Elizabeth Harris, and Ryan Bek. Many others were injured. It was the deadliest fire in Greensboro's history when it happened.
In January, Danahey will be up for parole, years ahead of schedule, after Gov. Roy Cooper commuted her sentence. Previously, she was up for parole in 2029.
WFMY News 2’s Amber Lake spoke to a retired fire chief who responded to the fire, Danahey’s lawyer, and for the first time, Danahey’s sister.
'I woke up with a sense of freedom'
Emily Danahey's sister has been behind bars for 20 years. Come January, she could be released.
“This morning I woke up with a sense of freedom inside of me that I have not experienced before,” Emily said.
She said her sister has served enough time for the crime.
“This truly was a prank. This was not any ill, ugly vengeful act on her part,” Emily said.
The fire spread to the entire building, killing four people and injuring several more.
“The thing I can’t help but recognize is that we were initially facing the death penalty – went from death penalty to four counts of life in prison without parole – to now this, so I am praising God because I think it’s a miracle,” Emily said.
Emily said despite her optimism, she's still thinking of what needs to happen next in order for her sister to be free.
“I think part of me is not allowing myself to get there yet because this is just the beginning. We still need to go before a parole board and make our case as to why we understand she is worthy of their consideration and release. That decision is still to be determined,” she said.
'That's one that will be with me forever'
Retired Greensboro fire chief Larry Cockman responded to that fire 20 years ago.
“When there are multiple fatalities - or any fatality - but those multiple ones under sad circumstances, stick with you forever, and that’s one that will be with me forever,” Cockman said.
Cockman said when he got to the complex, he prayed with the dad of Elizabeth Harris who died in the fire.
“That morning on the shift, I got off the next morning, one of my sons was still living at home and he said, ‘Dad, you had a rough day.’ And I broke down. I had been there, at that time, for 31 years. Retired the next year. I started crying. I couldn’t quit. It just comes out of me,” he said.
All these years later, the fire and the families it devastated, still burn in his memory.
“We hug our kids a little tighter when we get off duty because we know that could’ve been them just as well,” he said.
What's next
Don Vaughan is Danahey's attorney. He's been representing her for years. He said on January 2, he will request a parole hearing for Janet. That hearing will determine if she will be released and the conditions for release.
Vaughan said, “there was no intention ever to kill anybody. It didn’t even cross her mind. She had been the torchbearer in the Olympics when we had the Olympics here. She had a great record at UNCG. The fire accidentally caught some decorations on the door that caught an old futon and then that went up and then the stairway was wooden,” he continues, "what the Governor is doing is giving her a chance, a second chance at life after a period of time that she has served."
If she is released, Janet will live with her sister and already has a job lined up.
