NY brothers, Jarrett Gause and Justin Gause indicted with murder charges after saving their meth equipment from a house fire only to leave their grandmother to die.
Meth before blood. Two New York brothers are facing second-degree murder charges for allegedly saving their methamphetamine equipment from a house fire earlier this year, while leaving their 82-year-old grandmother to die, according to prosecutors.
Jarret W. Gause, 33, of Bath, was charged Oct. 10 by a Steuben County grand jury. His brother, Justin L. Gause, 21, of Corning had already been facing a manslaughter charge, only for the grand jury to upgrade charges to second-degree murder that same day, The Leader reported.
The brother’s grandmother, Gladys Ann Willow died from injuries she obtained in the May house fire, New York State Police said. Investigators later determined that the fire had been ignited during the production of methamphetamine inside the home.
Both Jarret and Justin Gause were charged with second-degree murder, five counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, tampering with physical evidence, first-degree falsifying business records and second-degree assault.
Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker said the brothers removed the drug paraphernalia from the home and went to buy cigarettes, but did not report the fire, WETM reported.
On the day of the fire, May 14, WETM reported multiple fire departments and police responding to 20 Townsend Ave at the Village of Riverside at about 8:30 a.m. Firefighters fought the blaze for nearly 30 minutes. Discovered unresponsive at the blaze was the brother’s grandmother.
Despite being rushed to hospital, the elderly woman was soon after her arrival pronounced dead.
Upon the indictments being unsealed on October 10, Jarrett Gause was brought into custody and taken to the Steuben County Jail, where he remains. Justin Gause was originally booked into the jail but is now free on bail, state police said.
