Cops: Drug-hungry man sets house on fire, killing 3 kids
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A man impatient for drugs set a Flint house on fire, killing three children, after a woman who was given money to buy crack cocaine didn't return, investigators said Tuesday as they announced murder charges.
"This is a horrible case," said David Leyton, the Genesee County prosecutor.
Rodney Dale King Jr. and Erica Starkey met on a street in the early hours last Friday. They smoked crack cocaine at Starkey's home before she left to buy more drugs around 4 a.m., Leyton said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}King fell asleep and when he woke up around 6 a.m. to find Starkey hadn't returned, he set furniture on fire, Leyton said.
Two victims were Starkey's children: Kayden Hull, 4, and Onyah Starkey, 13. Leyton said Kayden's bedroom was locked from the outside with a padlock.
The other victim, 14-year-old Brianna Beaushaw, was spending the night. She died Sunday, two days after the fire.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}King, 40, and Starkey, 39, will appear in court Tuesday on murder charges and other crimes. They don't have lawyers yet
"If I would have known I only had 14 years, I would have hugged more," said Brianna's mother, Schuyler Kelley. "I kissed her and told her I loved her every day, but I would have done it more."
Leyton said King and Starkey were only thinking about getting their "next high."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"As a result of that, three kids are dead," he said.