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Mother's fiancé is charged for triple-fatal house fire in Springfield MOby KY3 News
Devin, Alexis and Kelsey Watson died Monday in a house fire in Springfield. Related Content
Deadly House FireCity police arrested Williams about 3 p.m. Tuesday. He was charged just after 2 p.m. Wednesday. Williams is the fiancé of the children's mother, Violet Watson. In a written statement issued by e-mail on Tuesday about 8 p.m. through a friend, Watson said “Nobody knows what I am going through. I am the one that just lost three children.” In a statement issued by telephone about 11 p.m. Tuesday, Linda Williams, David Williams' mother, said "My son would not ever hurt anybody, especially the people and children he loved the most." In that same telephone statement, Violet Watson said, "David did not and would never hurt my children. He loved them with all his heart and is the best dad they have ever known. Our kids loved him with all of their heart and he was all they ever talked about when he was at work." Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Kansas City are helping the Springfield police and fire departments investigate the fire. The federal agents arrived at the burned home at 1711 W. Olive St. about 11 a.m. Tuesday. The fire killed Alexis Watson, 7; Kelsey Watson, 5; and Devin Watson, 4. Their maternal grandfather, Terrie Watson Sr., is in critical condition at a hospital. Violet Watson and Williams escaped from the burning home, although Williams said he and the grandfather went back inside to try to save the children before firefighters arrived.
Springfield police say a city fire marshal asked the federal agents to help recreate the fire scene, because of their special skills in that area, to help piece together how this fire started and spread. A trained dog from the state fire marshal's office spent the morning sniffing for accelerants, as evidence from the scene arrived at the crime lab in Springfield. Still, investigators are keeping the latest information close to their chests. "Both the Springfield fire marshal and the state fire marshal have a pretty good idea about where the fire was started, but I'm not going into anything that happened inside those walls," Springfield Police Lt. David Millsap said on Tuesday. Police and other investigators have treated the home as a crime scene since early Monday in order not to contaminate evidence until a cause is known. Police said Monday that firefighters noticed something suspicious while they were fighting the fire and rescuing the children and grandfather from the burning home. Autopsies on the children's bodies were done on Tuesday as part of the investigation but no results were released to reporters. Their funerals are scheduled for Monday afternoon in Springfield. Klingner-Cope Funeral Home is making the arrangements. Most Viewed
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