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Re: 3 Homicides Confirmed In House Fire
ROARING SPRING, Ky. -- Kentucky State Police spokesman Dean Patterson said autopsies done on two children Friday after a Kentucky house fire resulted in those deaths being ruled homicides. One of the deaths had been ruled a homicide Thursday.
State police said a total of three people were dead and another was injured from a fire Wednesday evening at house near Fort Campbell military post.
Patterson said the three victims were siblings and were identified as 17-year-old Kayla Williams, 14-year-old Kortney Frensley and 5-year-old Ethan Frensley.
The mother of the children, Kristy Frensley, was in serious condition at a hospital in Hopkinsville. She was recently divorced and worked at a hair salon in Cadiz, Ky.
As of Friday, investigators said they have talked to everyone connected to the family, and they have no obvious conclusions.
Friends and family of the victims said they don't believe either of Kristy Frensley's ex-husbands is suspected in the crime. Her first husband, Kayla's father, is an army captain who lives in California.
Kristy Frensley's second ex-husband is a Special Forces Master sergeant based at Fort Campbell. He and his new wife tried to get custody of Ethan two weeks ago, but a judge ruled against it. Kristy Frensley recently broke up with a live-in boyfriend.
Kayla Williams had only recently moved to Kentucky after living with her father in California and her grandparents in Florida.
"Yesterday, she was normal Kayla. She didn't show any signs of anything being wrong," said a friend of Kayla Williams.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Thomas Clifton said that the investigation was continuing, but "that's going to take some time." Clifton said investigators still consider the fire as being of undetermined origin.
Officers were first called to the home around 5 p.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, the house was already on fire.
The Kentucky State Fire Marshal's office and an arson investigator arrived at the house around midday on Thursday.
"(The children) were found in different locations on the property," said Kentucky State Trooper Dean Patterson. "Anytime you have three people who have died, it's grim. We just don't have a lot of details as to how that happened."
Patterson said troopers are conducting a criminal investigation.
Police have yet to say if there is a motive or name any suspects but said they are questioning several people. Family, friends and neighbors told Channel 4 that officials on the scene Wednesday night told them that the mother and children were stabbed and the fire may have been an attempt to cover up the incident.
Hopkinsville businessman John Schrecker, who was bicycling through the area with a friend, said he saw smoke from about three miles away.
"As we got there, the house was in flames," he said.
Richard Coleman, 32, said he and his wife were preparing dinner Wednesday when one of their children ran in and said he saw a black cloud of smoke. Coleman said he and his wife saw the smoke and drove to the tree-lined community about a half-mile away.
"By the time we got there, the house was fully engulfed," Coleman said. "There was nothing they could have done at the time to save the structure."
Coleman said they heard a woman yelling for help. About the same time, an emergency worker ran around the back of the house and found a woman, Coleman said.
Other agencies referred questions to state police, and the county coroner was not available early Thursday.
Tim McGinnis, superintendent of Trigg County schools, said he's staying in touch with law enforcement. As of Friday afternoon, there were no memorial services planned at Trigg County High School, where two of the children attended classes.
"We are prepared and are in anticipation that whatever did occur may have an impact on our schools," McGinnis said. "A lot of our students are hearing different stories. ... That is what makes it difficult because our students are hearing things that I can't confirm."
Police blocked off a quarter-mile area around the house, which is in a tree-lined community. Neighbors of the house were not answering their front doors Thursday morning. Roaring Spring Christian Church can be seen through the trees from the neighborhood, which is about 75 miles northwest of Nashville, Tenn.
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