Local

Demolition crew tears down home in fatal meth lab explosion

LILBURN, Ga. — After months of complaints from neighbors, the Gwinnett County home where three children were killed in a meth lab explosion last year was demolished Wednesday morning.

"We call this the meth house, and just want it to go away. We are glad. This is amazing,"  neighbor Sue Burton told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh.

The home on Spring Mill Drive has been vacant since the explosion in February 2011.

The home was initially planned to be torn down last week, but demolition finally began at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Burton is one of the dozens of neighbors who spent months fighting for this day.

Neighbors call the home a constant reminder of the explosion and the three children, all under age 5, who were killed.

"Just very bad memories of everything that happened here. The loss of life. And it's a real tragedy," Jim Jenkins said.

The home's owner, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, was fined earlier this year for code violations.

The children's mother and two men were charged with murder and drug-related offenses.

Police said they are still searching for a third man, Ivan Gonzalez.

John Krueger of the Viking Development Group said he tears down homes every day. But rarely does his work mean so much to a neighborhood.

"I know for the neighborhood, it will definitely be a starting point to move forward," he said.

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