Father suspected of setting house fire that killed his 3 children faces murder charges

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - Police in Lousiana arrested a man suspected of setting his ex-wife’s house on fire, resulting in the deaths of their three children.

Three children, ages 3, 5 and 7, were killed in a house fire in New Orleans, WVUE reports. Police say that they have information that points to the fire being started by their father, 29-year-old Joseph Washington.

Investigators say that around 11:55 p.m. Tuesday, the mother of the three children, who was not home at the time, called 911 saying that her ex-husband, Washington, intended to burn the house down.

“He’s screaming on the phone. I hear the kids screaming. Y’all are just going to have to break through the door. Don’t let anything happen please!” the mother said in the 911 call.

Authorities were dispatched to the 4900 block of America Street shortly after midnight to find the home fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters attempted to resuscitate a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy when they arrived. The children were sent to a nearby hospital where they later died.

Firefighters say that as they continued to battle the fire, they discovered a third child, a 3-year-old boy, dead from what appeared to be injuries sustained on the scene.

The parish coroner will determine the official causes of death.

Investigators determined this incident was the result of an apparent domestic dispute.

Surveillance video obtained from a neighbor’s residence shows the flames growing from the rear of the home. A person can be seen on the video exiting the home before getting into a vehicle and driving away.

The grandfather of the children, Troy McDonnell, pleaded for his son, Washington, to turn himself in. About 30 minutes later, McDonnell told WVUE that Washington was taken into custody.

Police say Washington was taken to the hospital for injuries sustained during his arrest. They say he jumped from an interstate overpass while fleeing in another vehicle on I-610 near Elysian Fields.

Washington faces three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of cruelty to juveniles and one count of aggravated arson.

Friends and family members have placed candles, balloons and flowers on the front lawn of the home in memory of the kids.

“I can’t imagine the horror of this,” Bertrand Williams said. “Those kids were so young. His own children. It was just so evil what was displayed here. I just had to come out.”

The New Orleans Police Department’s Child Abuse unit is investigating.

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