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Inset: Braydon Blake. Background: Home in the 3800 block of East Anderson Road near Bloomington, Indiana, that Blake allegedly set on fire (WXIN).
An Indiana man has been taken into custody after allegedly setting his residence ablaze, resulting in the tragic deaths of his 74-year-old grandmother, her caregiver, and another woman who was bedridden due to cerebral palsy.
Braydon Blake faces charges of murder and arson. The incident unfolded when the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received multiple urgent calls just after 2:30 a.m. on January 18, reporting a fire with individuals trapped inside a home located on the 3800 block of East Anderson Road near Bloomington. Upon the arrival of emergency crews, they encountered a house engulfed in flames and a vehicle that had collided with the garage.
Emergency responders discovered an 18-year-old woman who had managed to escape the inferno, albeit with severe burns. Another individual also fled the scene. Both were swiftly transported to a medical facility, where, tragically, one succumbed to her injuries several weeks later, as reported by the Bloomington Herald-Times. The deceased was identified as 53-year-old Paula Anderson. Firefighters, entering the home, found the bodies of two other women: 74-year-old Mary Blake and 33-year-old Kristine Rowan, who was Anderson’s daughter.
Approximately an hour following the distressing event, law enforcement found Braydon Blake, identified by witnesses as the suspected arsonist, hiding in a wooded section of the property. He, too, was suffering from severe burns and was subsequently hospitalized.
In a press release shared by Angela Ganote, an anchor for local Fox affiliate WXIN, it was noted that Monroe County deputies maintained a vigil over Blake at Eskenazi Hospital for around a month. However, complications arose when the hospital released Blake on April 1 without notifying the deputies, contrary to an agreement with the sheriff’s office.
Deputies learned on Thursday that Blake was free. With the help of the Indiana State Police and U.S. Marshals, deputies arrested Blake in Avon on Friday.
WXIN reported that Rowan, Anderson’s daughter, was bedridden. Mary Blake was suffering from cancer. The outlet also reported that the motive for the fire may have been a rape allegation against the defendant.
Blake remains in the Monroe County Jail without bond.
According to a GoFundMe account description by Anderson’s sister, Rowan suffered from cerebral palsy. Her 18-year-old sister also suffered serious burns in the fire.
“The fire, set by a member of the older woman’s family, took the lives of his own grandmother and my 33-year-old niece Kristine, who had lived with cerebral palsy and was bedridden,” Lindsey Pesonen wrote. “In a matter of moments, we lost our family member, and everything they owned was reduced to ashes.”