IN - Four sisters, ages 5-11, die in Flora house fire, Nov 2016

[chaz]

Four sisters died in Flora house fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PATU6yG267o Published November 21 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f-l5wduJBY Update, victims identified

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQdBT9iCebM Deputy Drew Yoder speaks about the fire

 

[chaz]

Some articles in the Carroll County Comet:

https://www.carrollcountycomet.com/articles/4-sisters-perish-in-flora-fire-2/ November 23, 2016

https://www.carrollcountycomet.com/articles/willoughbys-holds-angels-wings-benefit-for-rose-family/ November 30, 2016

https://www.carrollcountycomet.com/articles/keyana-l-davis-keyara-j-phillips-kerrielle-d-mcdonald-kionnie-p-welch/ Obituary November 30, 2016

https://www.carrollcountycomet.com/articles/flora-fire-is-ruled-intentional/ January 25, 2017

https://www.carrollcountycomet.com/articles/flora-fire-is-ruled-intentional-2/ February 01, 2017

https://www.carrollcountycomet.com/articles/stone-sofa-a-lasting-testament-to-lives-lost/ May 31, 2017

https://www.carrollcountycomet.com/articles/hope-for-help-helps-ces-students-cope-and-brings-attention-to-tragedy/ June 14, 2017

 

[TL4S]

Thank you for starting this thread!

I know MyCase links don't stay live for long, but there is a lawsuit pending between the plaintiff insurance company vs defendants GR (mother and tenant) and JA (property owner and landlord).

Indiana Supreme Court public access case search - MyCase

 

[Charlot123]

Thank you for this thread!
For young girls, cheerleaders.
I shall try to find photos.

 

[curiousgene]

Thank you!

 

[tresir2012]

Mother of four girls killed in Flora house fire sues landlord

Thank you for starting the thread. There's a lovely pic of the girls and their mom in this article.

FLORA, Ind. (WLFI) — It's been nearly two years since a Flora mother lost her four daughters in a house fire and now she has filed a federal lawsuit against her landlord.

Nov. 21, 2016 was a devastating day for the town of flora. A home on Columbia Street caught fire while Gaylin Rose and her four daughters were inside. The mother was this only one to make it out a live.

Rose is now suing landlord Josh Ayers, his business partner Troy Helderman, and their company Birch Tree Holdings. The wrongful death suit alleges Rose previously complained about multiple things that potentially lead to the death of her little girls.

The complaints include faulty smoke detectors, non-functioning electrical outlets, and non-locking doors. Rose is also suing Whirlpool and Sears over a range appliance that was allegedly defective and created the dangerous situation. The fire was originally deemed arson by the Indiana State Fire Marshal's office.

 

[tresir2012]

Here's another good article

TIMELINE: Four sisters killed in Flora fire

 

[tresir2012]

This is one of the most recent articles I could find.

Three years later: Investigation of Flora Fire that killed four sisters continues

Provided by Family


If possible, the only antidote for her agony will be the day an arrest is announced.

"Just say something. Anything," Rose said of finding a suspect. "I don't have no understanding as to why the house would burn down. I just want you to be real for my kids, just come to peace for the girls."

The Indiana State Police says this is not a cold case.

"I think cold case Is like a sketch. A sketch is not a photograph — it's an idea, it's a rendering," Doug Carter, ISP Superintendent, said. "I think a cold case is when there's absolutely nothing, and that's not the case here."

"I've heard those detectives tell me, 'when we get done, superintendent, we're gonna start all over.' And that's what they've done, and they'll continue to do that," Superintendent Carter said. "The easy thing would be to walk away and just wait for it (tips) to come. It's not what people expect from us. That's not what I'm going to give them."

ISP released the following message in remembrance of the Flora Fire:
"November 21st of 2016, four young girls lost their lives at an arson fire in Flora, IN. Three years later, the Indiana State Police continues to utilize State, Local, County and Federal resources to accomplish our goal. We will continue to actively investigate all tips and leads available to us and work to bring justice for Keyana, Keyara, Kerriele and Kionnie. We encourage anyone with knowledge about this crime to contact Detective Brock Russell or Detective Ben Rector at 765-567-2125."

A blanket filled with pictures of the sisters gifted to Rose has helped comfort her three years later.

"It keeps me calms; it keeps me mellow," Rose said. "My babies are here with me but there not physically here with me."

The gift captures the happy days with Keyanna, Keyara, Kierelle, and Kionnie, nicknamed 'Pedal.'

"Kerielle — loved her feistiness. I love the way she clung to me and she smiled and she wanted you to smile and be happy," Rose said. "Pedal was more of my shy, quiet quiet baby. You would have to ask me for whatever she needed, because she would not say anything."

"Kiara was my quiet baby. I love the way she was a laid-back girl; grab a book, grab a show or a movie and she is quiet and she is content," Rose said. "Kiana was my adventure girlfriend. She wanted to go around the world if I let her. I love that she wanted to do and be something in her life."

 

[curiousgene]

Thank you for starting this thread!

I know MyCase links don't stay live for long, but there is a lawsuit pending between the plaintiff insurance company vs defendants GR (mother and tenant) and JA (property owner and landlord).

Indiana Supreme Court public access case search - MyCase

Thank you for the link. I saved the case number to read it later. I will also go through the original complaint when I get the time.
The insurance company is denying liability as the property in question was not covered by the homeowner's insurance policy as it was leased out. Secondly, regular maintenance of the home is not the insurer's responsibility. I am not sure if they had a renter's insurance for the rented property. As per my understanding, umbrella insurance will work only if they had rental insurance.
The landlord should be held accountable for this. Based on the complaint, the landlord was aware of the faulty smoke detector but failed to replace it. MOO

 

[Falling Down]

We can Monday morning quarterback what we know about faulty this and that, but at the end of the day for me I wonder about the origin(s) of the fire.

I feel terrible for the families involved and the first responders, the latter are heroes for what they did that early morning.

Indiana State Police respond to calls for action and answers in Flora fire case

Published: May 22nd, 2019 - 5:55pm (EDT)
Updated: May 23rd, 2019 - 3:24am (EDT)

Supt. Carter said the investigation was stymied in part by a lack of cooperation. He said Gaylin spoke with investigators after the fire, but has not answered extensive questions about who frequented her home.

"It's very important that we understand who's been at the house, who had been at the house, what those dynamics were and people who did visit the home. And right now we don't know what those answers are," revealed Supt. Carter.

Now things got even more strange in the months afterwards, regarding the investigation:

One year later: Remembering four sisters killed in Flora house fire

FOX59 exposed that the fire investigator’s claim that accelerants were found in several parts of the home, was untrue. The Indiana State Police confirmed they found accelerants in only one part of the home, meaning the fire only started in one spot.

State Police looked into the details of the fire after FOX59 obtained an email critical of the initial information. That email was written by a private fire investigator who also investigated the Flora fire. He claimed that Randle was wrong about the accelerants.

 

[tresir2012]

Thank you for the link. I saved the case number to read it later. I will also go through the original complaint when I get the time.
The insurance company is denying liability as the property in question was not covered by the homeowner's insurance policy as it was leased out. Secondly, regular maintenance of the home is not the insurer's responsibility. I am not sure if they had a renter's insurance for the rented property. As per my understanding, umbrella insurance will work only if they had rental insurance.
The landlord should be held accountable for this. Based on the complaint, the landlord was aware of the faulty smoke detector but failed to replace it. MOO

I agree. Do we know if there were coroner reports and autopsies done? Have the reports been released? Has there been official causes and manner of death assigned to the girls?

Also, are there any public or private cameras at this junction? I believe it is opposite the Pizza Restaurant. Is that the correct location in Flora?

 

[TL4S]

We can Monday morning quarterback what we know about faulty this and that, but at the end of the day for me I wonder about the origin(s) of the fire.

I feel terrible for the families involved and the first responders, the latter are heroes for what they did that early morning.

Indiana State Police respond to calls for action and answers in Flora fire case

Published: May 22nd, 2019 - 5:55pm (EDT)
Updated: May 23rd, 2019 - 3:24am (EDT)

Supt. Carter said the investigation was stymied in part by a lack of cooperation. He said Gaylin spoke with investigators after the fire, but has not answered extensive questions about who frequented her home.

"It's very important that we understand who's been at the house, who had been at the house, what those dynamics were and people who did visit the home. And right now we don't know what those answers are," revealed Supt. Carter.

Now things got even more strange in the months afterwards, regarding the investigation:

One year later: Remembering four sisters killed in Flora house fire

FOX59 exposed that the fire investigator’s claim that accelerants were found in several parts of the home, was untrue. The Indiana State Police confirmed they found accelerants in only one part of the home, meaning the fire only started in one spot.

State Police looked into the details of the fire after FOX59 obtained an email critical of the initial information. That email was written by a private fire investigator who also investigated the Flora fire. He claimed that Randle was wrong about the accelerants.

Yeah, if you start digging into this fire and the people involved on all levels, it gets stranger and stranger. We can't discuss most of it here, however.

 

[curiousgene]

I agree. Do we know if there were coroner reports and autopsies done? Have the reports been released? Has there been official causes and manner of death assigned to the girls?

Also, are there any public or private cameras at this junction? I believe it is opposite the Pizza Restaurant. Is that the correct location in Flora?

I am not from Indiana so I don't really know where exactly this place is. If there were cameras around than the LE would definitely have some footage. I don't know if the coroner report was released. Locals from Carroll county will be able to shed some light to it.

 

[curiousgene]

We can Monday morning quarterback what we know about faulty this and that, but at the end of the day for me I wonder about the origin(s) of the fire.

I feel terrible for the families involved and the first responders, the latter are heroes for what they did that early morning.

Indiana State Police respond to calls for action and answers in Flora fire case

Published: May 22nd, 2019 - 5:55pm (EDT)
Updated: May 23rd, 2019 - 3:24am (EDT)

Supt. Carter said the investigation was stymied in part by a lack of cooperation. He said Gaylin spoke with investigators after the fire, but has not answered extensive questions about who frequented her home.

"It's very important that we understand who's been at the house, who had been at the house, what those dynamics were and people who did visit the home. And right now we don't know what those answers are," revealed Supt. Carter.

Now things got even more strange in the months afterwards, regarding the investigation:

One year later: Remembering four sisters killed in Flora house fire

FOX59 exposed that the fire investigator’s claim that accelerants were found in several parts of the home, was untrue. The Indiana State Police confirmed they found accelerants in only one part of the home, meaning the fire only started in one spot.

State Police looked into the details of the fire after FOX59 obtained an email critical of the initial information. That email was written by a private fire investigator who also investigated the Flora fire. He claimed that Randle was wrong about the accelerants.

ISP Doug Carter's comment hints towards the arsonist as someone known to the family or who had reasons to frequently be in the premises. I think that's what LE believes at this point of time. MOO

 

[Falling Down]

I am not from Indiana so I don't really know where exactly this place is. If there were cameras around than the LE would definitely have some footage. I don't know if the coroner report was released. Locals from Carroll county will be able to shed some light to it.

خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

 

[bwt42]

Curious. The fire started downstairs. The girls who slept upstairs died & the mother who slept downstairs had to be airlifted to hospital. Tenant who lived upstairs escaped unharmed.

 

[bwt42]

I am not from Indiana so I don't really know where exactly this place is. If there were cameras around than the LE would definitely have some footage. I don't know if the coroner report was released. Locals from Carroll county will be able to shed some light to it.

I am from Indiana & Flora is a small town of around 2000 people. When I saw this thread yesterday I was shocked that the victims where black. I saw they had moved to Flora from Missouri & wondered how they chose Flora. Today I checked Wikipedia & found the black population of Flora @ .3 %. That would place the African American population at around 5-6 people.

 

[Falling Down]

Curious. The fire started downstairs. The girls who slept upstairs died & the mother who slept downstairs had to be airlifted to hospital. Tenant who lived upstairs escaped unharmed.

Just curious if you have a link to a page explaining where the firs started. I've looked at this case some on and off for 2 years or so, and have found little info about the forensics of the scene.

IIRC, they said it started in the kitchen, but I wasn't sure where exactly the kitchen was located.

 

[bwt42]

Just curious if you have a link to a page explaining where the firs started. I've looked at this case some on and off for 2 years or so, and have found little info about the forensics of the scene.

IIRC, they said it started in the kitchen, but I wasn't sure where exactly the kitchen was located.

An article said the living quarters were downstairs so I assumed that would include the kitchen.

 

[chaz]

I am from Indiana & Flora is a small town of around 2000 people. When I saw this thread yesterday I was shocked that the victims where black. I saw they had moved to Flora from Missouri & wondered how they chose Flora. Today I checked Wikipedia & found the black population of Flora @ .3 %. That would place the African American population at around 5-6 people.

4 sisters perish in Flora fire | Carroll County Comet This article says:
"The Rose family moved to Flora approximately two years ago to join their father and grandfather, Tracy Rose, who already resided in Flora."

Just curious if you have a link to a page explaining where the firs started. I've looked at this case some on and off for 2 years or so, and have found little info about the forensics of the scene.

IIRC, they said it started in the kitchen, but I wasn't sure where exactly the kitchen was located.

In the same article it says:
"A release issued late Tuesday afternoon stated the fire originated in the kitchen, possibly behind the refrigerator, but the cause is undetermined due to the amount of damage to the building.

According to the release, “Investigators couldn’t find batteries in a smoke alarm on the second floor. The smoke alarm was in the upstairs hallway, which was exposed to extreme heat. The alarm was scorched and melted.”

The woman occupying the upstairs apartment escaped unharmed. The release stated that the smoke alarm in the second apartment was found to be working when crews responded to the fire. Her two children were not at home that night."
I find it a bit confusing.