(LEX 18) — On Tuesday, Doug Gambrell returned to where his life changed forever. It was the Leawood Square Apartments in Frankfort where his younger brother David was severely injured in a deadly fire in September 2021.
Doug lived across the street from David's apartment building when the fire broke out. He told LEX 18 that David was asleep when the fire began. He ran out of his burning building to get help when he woke up. His body was also on fire.
"Hearing those screams, I still hear those in my dreams," Doug said. "It was awful."
Investigators say the fire was intentionally set; the suspect is an evicted tenant.
"In my household, we don't refer to him by name," Doug said. "Because that humanizes him, and what he did had no humanity to it."
Ibrahim Muhammad is already facing murder charges for the death of two women killed during the fire, 21-year-old Zephany Rushin and 20-year-old Quiana Danyel Miller-Walker.
Now, he could face another murder charge. 40-year-old David Gambrell died in August from heart failure after nearly two excruciating years of around-the-clock care. Initially, he was treated at U of L's burn center. Then Doug stopped working to care for his brother full-time at home. He says David's injuries were not only physical but mental.
"He was severely depressed," Doug said. "He couldn't do the things he had once enjoyed. He couldn't walk. He couldn't even play with the dog anymore, and that was his favorite thing."
It's not yet clear if the fire resulted in David's death. Prosecutors are still waiting on autopsy results.
Doug says he believes the report will prove the fire killed David, and Muhammad's assault charge will be upgraded to murder. But he says, ultimately, it does not matter because he saw how the fire impacted his brother, who had already dealt with symptoms of Crohn's disease for years.
"The moment he decided to set that fire, that was the end of David," he said. "And though the fire didn't kill him, the next two years did. And he was a tortured soul."
Before the fire, Doug says his little brother was a trained chef with a great sense of humor who looked out for the little guy. Doug recalled when David used his last $100 to buy an elderly neighbor groceries.
Those qualities he's remembering as he searches for justice in one final act of brotherly love.
"I miss him enormously," he said. "He was everything to me. He was not only my little brother but my best friend."
Doug says he has hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt. He also still owes money for David's cremation. That's why he started a GoFundMe to get back on his feet.
Doug said he's also in a lawsuit against the apartment's former management. In March of 2022, a WDRB investigation revealed the complex failed its fire marshal inspection twice in the months before the fire. The apartments are now under new management, and the building where the fire happened is being renovated.
Ibrahim remains in jail on a $1,000,000 bond.
