HEARTBREAKING

Man Charged With Killing Baby in Arson Attack

Several adults managed to escape as the house was engulfed in flames, but no one was able to save the baby, authorities said.

A Kansas man is facing a first-degree murder charge for allegedly killing a baby by setting a home ablaze. Police in Johnson County identified the suspect on Monday as 28-year-old Nicholas Adam Ecker. In addition to the murder charge, Ecker also faces an aggravated arson charge in connection with a Sunday morning fire in Shawnee. Authorities say several residents of the home managed to escape but no one was able to save the baby, who was found dead inside the house after firefighters spent 20 minutes putting out the inferno. The Shawnee Mission Post reported that a man who arrived at the scene of the fire was detained after making a run for the front door, but he was not immediately identified. No further details were immediately available on a motive for the alleged arson attack, and it was not clear what relation Ecker had, if any, to those inside the home.