Joseph Washington New Orleans father sets home on fire amid contentious child custody case killing all three children as desperate mom called 911.
A New Orleans father has been accused of setting his family house on fire early Wednesday morning, leading to the man’s three children being killed, amid contentious back and forth between the children’s mother and the man over custody arrangements.
Joseph Washington Sr., 29 — was apprehended following a manhunt Wednesday, with the dad now facing multiple charges including second-degree murder, according to New Orleans Deputy Superintendent Ryan Lubrano.
‘We are here because of the tragic and senseless, horrific deaths of three young children last night in a domestic violence situation,’ New Orleans interim Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said at a press briefing Wednesday.
‘He’s about to burn the house!’
The children’s mother called 911 at 11:55 p.m. Tuesday night to report that their father intended to burn down their house, New Orleans police said. A fire was reported at the address ‘moments later,’ police said.
The mother wasn’t at the home when the fire started but was on her way there, cops said.
‘He’s going crazy,’ the desperate mother said in a 911 call released by the Orleans Parish Communications District. ‘I’m at work. I’m trying to hurry up and go there right now.’
The mother told the 911 operator that her ex-husband was screaming and ‘said he’s about to burn the house’ while begging for police to hurry. By the time cops arrived, the father had fled in his vehicle with a manhunt search launched for the dad.
First responders found the house engulfed in flames. A 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy were rescued from the home by firefighters, but were pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour later. The body of a 3-year-old boy was also recovered from the home and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Child custody arrangement eyed
Washington’s car was found later that morning in Gretna, partially submerged in the Mississippi River. The father was later apprehended on the I-610 after allegedly attempting to flee by jumping off the overpass and taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the fall, police said.
Washington was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and one count of aggravated arson, police said. The charges could change, Lubrano said.
The children’s cause of death will be determined by the coroner.
What sparked the fire is currently under investigation, Lubrano said. Police are also reviewing the parents’ custody arrangement and whether officers have responded to the home before.
‘Collectively we are outraged, we are disappointed, we are deeply saddened,’ interim Chief Kirkpatrick said while surrounded by members of the community during the briefing.
‘The person responsible will be held accountable,’ she added.
