GUILTY IA - Jessica, 13, & Kaleb Dyess, 6, die in arson fire, Cass County, 31 March 2005

mysteriew

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they saw the house across the street in flames. One of the house's occupants, 17-year-old Tracey Dyess , was searching for her dog.
"It was really strange, because she was going up and down the street looking for her dog while her brother and sister were still in the burning house," Kurt Rush said.

On Friday, Dyess was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her two younger siblings, Kaleb, 6, and Jessica, 13. Iowa Department of Public Safety officials said the fire was intentionally set with a flammable liquid.

Late Friday, Brian Street, 39, was charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse. Officials allege Street sexually abused Dyess. Street was described by officials as Dyess' stepfather.

Officials declined to say over what period of time the alleged abuse occurred.

Street and Dyess' mother, Debbie Dyess, both escaped from the house without serious injuries.

Street was being held Saturday at the Cass County Jail in Atlantic under $130,000 bond. Tracey Dyess is being held in the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs.

Two blocks east of the burned house, employees at Eckles Grocery have been trying to make sense of the tragedy since Thursday, said employee Darla Hannan.

She frequently saw Tracey and Brian Street come into the store together.

"Everyone knows something like this can happen," said Hannan, "but I guess everyone is shocked it happened here."

"I thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend, because he looks young and because of the way he acted with her," Hannan said. "You see how children act around their parents and that's not how they acted."

Neighbors say Debbie Dyess was seldom seen out of the home, although the children would be seen playing.

http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050403/NEWS01/504030331/1001/archive
 
What kills me is the Mother escaped the fire...........HELLO? The house is burning and instead of getting to her kids she got herself out. Everytime I read a story like that I get sick! The last one was a fire that claimed 4 kids(who were all sleeping in one room) BUT the three adults in the house all got out w/ no injuries because they ran out the front door(they then yelled for neighbors to go back in and "save the babies"!)
Id rather die in a burning house with my children than escape alive leaving them inside to die alone
 
messiecake said:
What kills me is the Mother escaped the fire...........HELLO? The house is burning and instead of getting to her kids she got herself out. Everytime I read a story like that I get sick! The last one was a fire that claimed 4 kids(who were all sleeping in one room) BUT the three adults in the house all got out w/ no injuries because they ran out the front door(they then yelled for neighbors to go back in and "save the babies"!)
Id rather die in a burning house with my children than escape alive leaving them inside to die alone


Me too Messie!!!! Either me and my kids get out or none of us do.
 
What a nightmare this home must have been.

http://www.theiowachannel.com/news/4347270/detail.html

GRISWOLD, Iowa -- Police say there is new evidence that sexual abuse happened in a home that was torched last week and killed two children.

Tracey Dyess, a 17-year-old girl, was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with a fire at her family's home that killed her two siblings.

The fire destroyed the Dyess home near Griswold.


Kaleb Dyess, 6, and his sister Jessica Dyess, 13, died in the blaze. Brian Street, 39, and Debbie Dyess, 37 and Tracey Dyess escaped the fire.

Brian Street, who was injured in the fire, was charged with 10 counts of third-degree sexual abuse, authorities announced later Friday night. He is charged in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of Tracey Dyess.

Clarence Waddell, Griswold's police chief, told NewsChannel 8 that they found strong evidence in the home of sexual abuse.

"This home had a lot of secrets," Waddell said.
 
I missed this the 1st time I read the articles:

"Street's father was once married to the mother of Dixie Shanahan. Shanahan is behind bars in Iowa for the murder of her husband. Shanahan was convicted of killing her abusive husband and leaving his body in a bedroom in their home for a year."

Wow. Holy smoke.
 
And more details...when I read how shocked the mom was, I think of Claude Rains in CASABLANCA being "Shocked-shocked!" -to find gambling in Bogart's bar, even as someone hands him his evening's winnings. How could she not know if this man was such a monster? It doesn't pass the smell test.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14285906&BRD=2554&PAG

ATLANTIC - Debbie Dyess said she was shocked to learn her husband, Brian Street, had allegedly abused her daughter, Tracey. But, she said, he physically abused her and was a controlling man.

Tracey Dyess, 17, awaits trial on first-degree murder charges after she allegedly set the house fire that killed her sister, Jessica, 13, and brother, Kaleb, 6. Street and Debbie escaped the March 31 blaze in the family's Griswold home.

Street sits in the Cass County Jail, charged with 10 counts of third-degree sexual abuse, at least some of which, according to Debbie and her mother, Diane Street, were committed against Tracey.

Debbie said she has not been allowed to talk to Tracey, who is being held at the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Facility in Council Bluffs.

"She wrote me a note saying she was sorry she hadn't been able to tell me and she loved me, and I wrote one back telling her I loved her," Debbie said. She said she wasn't certain what Tracey was referring to in her note but thinks now it is about the alleged abuse.

"I was shocked when the police came and told me Tracey set the fire and that she wanted to kill Brian," Debbie said. Diane Street, who is married to Brian's father, said the 17-year-old told her the same thing.

"She is not the same person," Diane said of her granddaughter. She hadn't seen Tracey for three years, largely because the family moved around a lot and did not tell family their location.

"She stares ahead. Her eyes are vacant. She's checked out," Diane said.

Both women said the young girl is having a difficult time facing the fact she killed her siblings. But both say they want her to get help and be well.
 
Well freaking DUH!!!!

ATLANTIC - Debbie Dyess said she was shocked to learn her husband, Brian Street, had allegedly abused her daughter, Tracey. But, she said, he physically abused her and was a controlling man.
 
How sad is this whole situation....I guess she (Tracey) was willing to sacrifice all to get rid of that creep? I wonder if he had abused the other children too?
 
Debbie Street, mother of a teen charged with setting a fatal fire in Griswold, admitted Tuesday that she is a bigamist.

Debbie Street said that at the time of her marriage to Brian Street, who is charged with abusing her 17-year-old daughter jailed in the fire, she already was married to Steve Grothe. Street said she is still married to Grothe, whom she married in Nebraska in July 2000.

Street, 37, said she married Brian Street on April 17, 2003, in Arizona.

"I got married because I had to," she said. Street declined to expand on her reasons.

Under Iowa law, bigamy is a serious misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $250 to $1,500 and up to one year in prison.

Cass County Attorney Dan Feistner said no charges have been filed against Debbie Street.

"We're aware of it, and it's under investigation," he said. "No decision has been made."

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050406/NEWS01/504060333/1002
 
I live in this area, and now they have physical evidence in this case. The search warrant was unsealed and now they have numerous photographs to back up this young girls claims. They were about the only thing that was salvage from the fire. I guess they were kept in a fire safe in this mans bedroom.

I have a hard time believing that the mother had no knowledge of any of this. Especially since she has said that she wasn't allowed to leave the house. Sorry to say but, I have a feeling this isn't the only child that he has abused. I am sure we will be hearing so many more charges to come. It's too bad that the children are always the ones to suffer when their parents can't get their act together.
 
ccs said:
I live in this area, and now they have physical evidence in this case. The search warrant was unsealed and now they have numerous photographs to back up this young girls claims. They were about the only thing that was salvage from the fire. I guess they were kept in a fire safe in this mans bedroom.

I have a hard time believing that the mother had no knowledge of any of this. Especially since she has said that she wasn't allowed to leave the house. Sorry to say but, I have a feeling this isn't the only child that he has abused. I am sure we will be hearing so many more charges to come. It's too bad that the children are always the ones to suffer when their parents can't get their act together.

ccs, thanks for the inside info. This sounds absolutely horrible! What a life this poor kid must have had! Could you keep us updated as you see articles, or have further info? I hope they find lots of things to charge this stepfather with and he goes to jail for a long, long time. And, actually I hope they take everything into consideration for the 17 yo and put her someplace where she can get some help.
 
They had a court hearing on 4-14 to decide if they would charge Tracey as an adult or in juvenile court. No decision has been made by the judge yet though. It came out in this court hearing though that this poor girl has been sexually abused by almost every man in her life since the age of 4. That list also included her step-fathers dad Frank Street. The mother also admitted that it had indeed happened and that her daughters earliest memories of her mother may have included seeing her turn tricks in the family home. The mother also said she herself has been in trouble for prostitution. What kind of life this must have been for these children.

If I knew that my father in law had sexually abused my child I could not stay a part of that family. She said she knew that Tracey had been sexually abused by 3 other known men since she was 4. I just wonder why if she was aware of this she didn't seek out professional help for her? Since this had happened before I can't imagine her not knowing about it this time. I think that Tracey felt like she had no other way out. The more that comes out in this case the more I think that the mother Debbie played a bigger part in it than she is admitting. I would say that this mother has made several bad judgement where her children were concerned. I also hope that they take into consideration what she has been through. She has suffered at the hands of the adults that were supposed to protect her, now I hope that our justice system doesn't fail her also.

I am not saying that she should get off all of her charges, but I don't think making her suffer the rest of her life in prison will help her any either. Brian Street on the other hand deserves to be treated the way he has treated others.
 
I wonder if this woman prostituted this child as well as herself? The whole family- Mom, stepdad, and assorted grandparents all sound like real losers. :loser:
 
What a sad, sad case. IMO, they need to get this poor girl with a psychiatrist. This child's background needs to be taken into account.

JMHO
fran
 
ccs said:
They had a court hearing on 4-14 to decide if they would charge Tracey as an adult or in juvenile court. No decision has been made by the judge yet though...
I hope that she is charged as a juvenile. I agree that this girl was so desperate that she didn't feel that she had any other way out. She didn't mean to kill her siblings--just this idiot.

What a sad, sad case. I hope that they rehabilitate this young girl.
 
A judge has refused the request to try her as a juvenile. They have decided that she will be 18 on May 31st they will try her as an adult. The creep of a step dad was denied release thank god. His sister in Council Bluffs was willing to take him in but, the judge refused that. He also is NOT out on bond his attorney says he can't afford it since everything was lost in the fire. I don't feel sorry for him at all, he will most likely end up getting less time in jail than the poor girl he abused. I just don't see how that is justice. I guess the trials are to start the end of May. Still no charges filed on the mother yet, I guess I just don't understand that one at all.
 
Tracey Dyess, the 17-year-old Griswold girl charged with setting a house fire that killed two of her young family members, will be tried in adult court, a judge ruled Monday.

Dyess' attorney said it was Cass County District Court Judge Jeffrey Larson's opinion that the charges are too serious to warrant a trial in juvenile court.

A trial date has been set for May 24, but will likely be pushed back to mid-summer or later

http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050419/NEWS01/504190413/1001/archive
 
A girl charged with setting a fire that killed her young brother and sister had been abused by three different men since she was 4 years old, her mother testified at a hearing to determine if the teenager should be tried as an adult.

During Thursday's hearing, Dyess' mother, Debbie Street, sobbed and rocked back and forth as she asked Judge Jeff Larson to let her daughter be tried in juvenile court.

She also testified that she had been arrested for prostitution in Texas.

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/...ing_news/ea25139c1938ddf186256fe400390c3f.txt
 
And the mother has the nerve to say she wants the daughter to "get help and be well". Man, Oh, Man, who does she think gave her the "sickness" to start with? :doh:
 

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