Parents of 10-year-old killed in house fire charged with felony murder

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The parents of a 10-year-old killed in a Gwinnett County house fire now face felony murder and other charges.

William and Carina McCue vanished for months after the fire until police found them on the Appalachian Trail in June.

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The family’s home on Beaver Road in Gwinnett County burned down Easter morning. Investigators say the couple’s 10-year-old daughter was locked inside a windowless room.

Police charged the couple’s 15-year-old son, who allegedly started the fire, with murder and arson. The other three children are in state custody.

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After the teen’s arrest, investigators started to suspect child abuse after arson investigators saw the unsanitary conditions of the home.

Investigators found a makeshift bed with bedding in the bathtub in the home where the child was found dead. The showers and the bathtubs in the home did not appear to be working.

Arson and SVU investigators also found an improvised camping-style toilet, seat buckets and non-usable toilets. The kitchen sink water had been diverted from the faucet to go into a bucket on the floor.

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SVU investigators determined that some of the children did not know how to use toilet paper. They were home-schooled and rarely left the house, investigators learned.

“There was evidence that the children were to not leave the home for years. There was evidence that the children were not given adequate food,” a social worker told a judge in court earlier this year.

Investigators previously charged the McCues with cruelty to children and false imprisonment.

Parents who vanished after fire killed 10-year-old found living on Appalachian Trail, arrested

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