A 15-year-old has been arrested for intentionally starting a fire that his 10-year-old sister in their Georgia home on Sunday.
Gwinnett County Police have charged the teenage boy with malice murder, felony murder and arson in the death of Zoe McCue, who was unable to escape her bedroom after the fire broke out in the family’s home.
The one-story home was already fully engulfed by flames by the time fire crews responded early Sunday morning, reported.
‘Once our crews arrived on scene we had heavy fire involvement throughout the entire front of the structure, it was just hidden away from a small wood line,’ said Lt. Justin Wilson with the Gwinnett County Fire Department. ‘When we were arriving on scene, we had reports of two people being trapped inside the home, a 10-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old boy.’
Ten-year-old Zoe McCue was found deceased in the home by first-responders. Her brother, who has not been named, was taken into custody after it was revealed the fire was intentionally lit.
Two other people who lived at the home, the father and another teen sibling, were at work when the fire broke out.
William McCue was at work with one of his teenaged daughters when the fire broke out. A coworker broke the news to him, Fox 5 reported.
‘I went over to her, and she told me I had to go home, there was a fire,’ he said. ‘I tried to get a hold of my wife and she answered the phone and said, come home.’
When he got home, he saw the devastation, and learned of his 10-year-old daughter’s death.
‘She kind of like take the lead and be in charge. She’s a handful of a ten year and wants to be the boss of everybody. That’s little Zoe,’ he said.
An investigation into the fire is still underway, but police are treating it as a homicide.
According to authorities and family, fire alarms had been installed in the home but did not activate when the fire started.
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