‘SENSELESS’

New Orleans Dad Arrested for Setting House Fire That Killed His 3 Kids

The children were 8, 5, and 3 years old, police said.

Three children were killed in a house fire allegedly set by their father following what New Orleans police called a “domestic violence situation” early Wednesday. The father, identified by police as Joseph Washington Sr., 29, was taken into custody following a manhunt that ended when he was stopped from trying to flee police by jumping off an overpass. He faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder. Police were alerted to the fire after the children’s mother, who was on her way to the house, called 911 to report that their father intended to burn their house down, they said. “He’s going crazy,” the mother said, according to 911 audio released by the Orleans Parish Communications District. A fire was reported at the family’s address shortly after, according to police. First responders rescued an 8-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl from the burning house, but both were later pronounced dead at a hospital. The body of a 3-year-old boy was also recovered from the home; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A police spokesperson called their deaths “tragic and senseless” and “horrific.”