Kim Hughes and Jaramy Chism are accused of setting the fire that killed a 6-year-old boy and 8-year-old girl last weekend

Woman Accused of Killing Kids in Fatal Fire Wanted Revenge, Says Victim's Friend: 'She Will Hold a Grudge'

A friend of the Washington mother whose two children were killed in a house fire allegedly set by a pair of disgruntled former tenants says the female suspect wanted revenge against the kids’ mother.

“She will hold a grudge and she will snap,” Meagan Bellus tells PEOPLE of Kim Hughes, who, along with Jaramy Chism, is facing murder and arson charges in the July 15 fire that killed Rose, 8, and 6-year-old Xavier in Skagit County PEOPLE confirms.

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The fire broke out at around 2 a.m., and authorities battled it until dawn, according to the Associated Press and KING.

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Five people were in the home at the time, including the kids’ mother, Jessica Starr, who Bellus says became injured while trying to save her children. The other two adults in the home, including Starr’s boyfriend Bryan Bachofer, were also injured.

“She fell from the second story trying to get the window open to rescue her kids,” Bellus tells PEOPLE of Starr. “By the time anyone got there … the kids were still inside, and they never came out.”

Starr and Bachofer remained hospitalized on Wednesday, she adds.

Bellus says that just one week prior to the fire, Bachofer told her that Hughes had allegedly gotten into a fight with Starr. Subsequently, Staff and Bachofer, who were the landlords, evicted Hughes and Chism.

‘This Time I Deserve Vengeance’

In the days following the alleged altercation, Hughes allegedly expressed her frustration about the eviction on Facebook, according to Bellus.

“She posted on Facebook something like, ‘How do you get back at people now that you don’t have liability?’ ” Bellus tells PEOPLE. “Her last post was, ‘being homeless sucks.’ ”

Hughe’s Facebook account has been deleted, but Bellus confirms the authenticity of photos of the posts. PEOPLE was not able to prove the veracity of the posts, but they appear to be similar to the same threats the suspect allegedly made as described in court documents.

In one post, Hughes allegedly wrote: “How would you go about getting revenge once you were able to separate yourself from liability?”

She added in the comment section, “This time I think I deserve vengeance.”

Bachofer told investigators that Hughes had allegedly threatened him days before the fire, saying, “I will sue you or burn your house down,” according to TV stations KCPQ and KOMO.

Now, as Chism and Hughes are both being held on $2 million bail — they have not yet been formally charged — Bellus says the community is remembering the children.

“They were well-behaved, nice little kids,” she tells PEOPLE. “I’ve never seen an attitude on them. They were always happy.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to benefit the victims.