UPDATE: May 6 at 2:50 p.m.
The Franklin County Coroner's Office identified the two teens who were found dead in a Franklin County house fire on Flat Creek Road on April 30 that resulted in the arrest of 43-year-old Dustin Fields.
The coroner has identified 13-year-old Bently Maxwell Fields and 15-year-old Rylan Austin Fields as the individuals found dead in the fire.
The coroner added that the investigation is still ongoing by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Franklin County Coroner's Office.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page was created titled, "Rebuild Hope for Jennifer Fields and Her Sons."
UPDATE: May 5 at 10:45 a.m.
During a Zoom in Franklin County District Court Monday morning, 43-year-old Dustin Fields, who is facing charges after his two juvenile sons were killed in a deadly house fire that he allegedly started, entered a not guilty plea.
Fields reportedly asked the judge "Is there any chance of me furloughing out for the kids' funeral?"
The Attorney for the Commonwealth then responded after the judge asked "What's the Commonwealth's position?"
The attorney replied, "At this point your honor I would object."
Fields' bond was kept at $2 million; his preliminary hearing date is May 13 at 1 p.m.
UPDATE: May 2 at 10:05 a.m.
New details have been released about the deadly house fire that killed two juveniles and resulted in the arrest of 43-year-old Dustin Fields in Franklin County.
According to an arrest citation, Fields "used accelerants to set fire to his residence knowing that the home was occupied by his two juvenile sons."
The citation states that "ATF K-9 detected an accelerant on Dustin's shoes at various locations in the home and in the area where the bodies were found."
According to the citation, Fields' statements to police were reportedly "inconsistent and conflicted with witness statements."
On Friday afternoon, Franklin County Schools released a statement regarding the death of the teenagers, noting that counselors will be made available.
This week Franklin County Schools lost two students. We are deeply saddened for the family and our school community. Our schools have a team of counselors and mental health support staff available as long as we need it. While we are unable to speak about details, we ask everyone to join us in keeping the family and the school community in our thoughts and prayers.
UPDATE: May 1 at 4:15 p.m.
Officials say that 43-year-old Dustin Fields has been arrested and charged with first-degree arson in connection with the deadly house fire.
During a press conference, officials also provided additional information, stating that when first responders arrived on the scene, they found a one-story home engulfed in flames. Crews reported there was a partial roof collapse and said they were made aware that there were “multiple people” trapped inside the house.
Two teens and a pet dog were ultimately found dead inside the home.
Officials add that evidence has been recovered from the scene and sent off for analysis, and that it took 20,000 gallons of water to get the fire under control. The location where the fire started is still under investigation.
Franklin County Judge Executive Michael Mueller said, “Anytime we lose people in our community, you know we’re a tight knit community. We’re 50,000 people between the city and county, so one loss is too many. Unfortunately it happened and you know, hopeful we can all be there for the family of the deceased and we just need to pull together and get out of this together.”
UPDATE: May 1 at 12:15 p.m.
The Franklin County Coroner's Office released information on the teenagers that were found dead after a house fire in Franklin County overnight on Wednesday, however, their identities were not released at this time.
The coroner reported, "Although, we believe to know the identifications, we rather rely on scientific facts to confirm identification, age and gender of the decedents."
Further, an autopsy was reportedly conducted and the coroner's office reported that the final autopsy results will be available in 16 to 20 weeks.
Original Story:
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office confirmed to LEX 18 that two teenagers are dead following an overnight fire at a home in Franklin County on Wednesday.
Officials reported that the fire occurred at a home on Flat Creek Road around 12:50 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to officials, the two killed in the fire were a 14-year-old and a 13-year-old.
This is a developing story and LEX 18 will have more information as it becomes available.
