Fundraiser set up for girl who escaped Wallingford house fire

SEATTLE — An aunt has organized an online crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a young girl who escaped a fire at her Wallingford home and the violence that claimed the lives of her family.

Donations to the GoFundMe will help the girl, who goes by Lulu, recover after the Saturday homicides and fire at her family’s home in the North Seattle neighborhood, according to the fundraiser posted by her aunt. Contributions will also be used for her education, including private schooling and tutoring.

“Overall, we just want to be able to offer her the best life possible and set her up for success in the future,” wrote Adrea Stewart-Sloniker. Over 400 donors had raised more than $32,500 by 9 p.m. Thursday.

Lulu escaped through a window from the rental home in the 1000 block of North 48th Street, managing to reach a neighbor to call 911. Officers tried to force their way in but found the door had been barricaded from the inside.

Fire crews battled the blaze before finding the bodies of two adults, two children and a dog.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the death of Salvatore Ragusa, 48, was a suicide and ruled as homicides the deaths of 40-year-old Lana A. Stewart, 7-year-old Sebastino Ragusa and 4-month-old Valentina Ragusa.

Though Seattle police have not disclosed the relationship between Ragusa and the victims, they were presumably a family, and neighbors have referred to Ragusa and Stewart as a couple with children.