Ex-Runaway Daughter Accused Of Burning Home, Killing DadPOSTED: 10:49 am EDT July 25,
2007 BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. -- In March, a former township supervisor was found dead by firefighters who responded to a fire at his house in Blairsville.Now, state police have arrested his 16-year-old daughter and charged her with homicide in the case, which they are calling a murder plot.William Wheeler, 57, was found in the bedroom of his home on South Stewart Street early on the morning of March 21, according to the Blairsville Volunteer Fire Department.Police said Wheeler's adopted daughter, Codee, 16, waited until her adoptive mother went to work and then set a fire in the family room while Wheeler was upstairs sleeping.The Indiana County coroner said Wheeler, a former Burrell supervisor, died of asphyxia from smoke inhalation. He also had burns on 90 percent of his body."I can certainly say he was conscious at the time of the fire and was breathing at the time of the fire, so yes, he would have had a certain amount of pain and suffering involved," said coroner Mike Baker.In addition, firefighters said a dog and two cats died inside the home.Codee is charged as an adult with homicide, arson and aggravated assault, WTAE Channel 4's Jennifer Miele reported.According to an affidavit of probable cause released earlier this year, a state police fire marshal said Codee was able to escape the house after it caught fire.William Wheeler's wife, Sue, told investigators she left for work that morning and got a phone call from Codee about the fire, according to the affidavit.The teenager told investigators she saw her father cooking breakfast, then she went upstairs to get her book bag, came back downstairs, saw that the house was on fire and was unable to find her father, according to the affidavit.Codee said she called William on his cell phone but did not get an answer, according to the affidavit.Several witnesses said they saw Codee talking on the cell phone while watching her parents' house burn down.They said she told no one that her father was inside and might need help.A fire marshal said burn patterns suggest the fire started in the middle of the family room, and it was deliberately set, according to the affidavit."Where the fire had started in the house and the evidence obtained at the scene, it was ruled an arson, and then it became a homicide," Chief Donald Hess of the Blairsville Police Department said on Wednesday.In March, Sue Wheeler disagreed with investigators' assessment of the fire, telling WTAE Channel 4 Action News, "It's not an arson."Court papers said Children and Youth Services removed the girl from her adoptive parents' home because William Wheeler often walked into the bathroom in his underwear while she was in the shower.The police affidavit said Codee's biological mother helped her run away from the Wheelers' home for several weeks around Christmas.When she returned to the Wheelers' home, police said she told other family members and friends that she had a plan to kill her adoptive parents and that she knew how to take the house down. Related Links: More Indiana County NewsGet RSS Headlines | Breaking News Alerts Copyright 2008 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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