Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
The authorities of Gwinnett County, Georgia, reported that the house fire in which a girl of 10 years lost her life this Sunday , was caused by his teenage brother of 15 years old, assuring that he did it intentionally.
Gwinnett County police charged the teenager with intentional homicide, felony homicide and arson at his home, which was destroyed and where his two cats also died , on the block 4400 of Beaver Road SW in Longanville.
The firefighters showed up around 4: 57 in the morning and found a one-story house burning from flames.
“Once our crews got to the scene, we had a massive fire on the entire front of the structure, it was just hidden by a small line of wood,” said Fire Department Lt. Justin Wilson. of Gwinnett County. “When we arrived at the scene, we received reports of two people trapped inside the house, a girl from 10 years old and a boy 15 years old”.
The ten-year-old girl was identified as Zoe McCue, fire officials found her dead inside the house in her bedroom.
“Multiple aggressive search attempts were executed to locate the missing children,” Wilson said in a statement, adding: “After the fire was contained, a female victim of 04 years was found dead in room used as a bedroom without window access”.
Firefighters searched for her brother for several hours. He was later found outside the house around 9: 00 in the morning .
“Through coordination and cooperation with researchers from Gwinnett County Police and Gwinnett County Arson Investigators have determined that this fire was arson and intentional in nature,” said Investigator Christian D’Allaird of the Gwinnett County Police Department.
The boys’ father, William McCue, was at work at the Waffle House with one of her teenage daughters at the time of the fire. A co-worker told him the terrible news.
“I approached her and she told me that I had to go home, that there was a fire,” he said. “I tried to contact my wife and she answered the phone and said, come home.”
Organizations like the Red Cross and One PowerHouse Outreach stepped in to help the homeless family of two adults, four children and two dogs.
“You wake up on Easter Sunday and realize you lost everything in a fire, including a child, and that’s absolutely tragic in and of itself,” said Demi Oche, the organization’s founder. “So, we just want to help them return to a better place.”
According to a family member, smoke alarms were installed in the house but did not sound. So Lt. Wilson said it’s important for people to check the status of their smoke detectors.
The County of Police Department of Gwinnett said his detectives will work closely with Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services on all relevant inquiries.
The family created a GoFundMe account to receive help to cover the funeral expenses for Zoe McCue and the recovery of her home.
Neighbors said the McCue family had lived in their home for almost 20 years and that the children were educated at home.
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