Investigators are digging deeper into the Georgia fire that killed a woman and her two daughters. Suspicion surrounds the husband, Brent Patterson, who escaped the burning home unharmed, leaving his family to die in the inferno. The seemingly happy family has some dark secrets, and they are coming to light.
Brent Patterson was court-martialed while in service in the Navy for drug trafficking cocaine and marijuana. He was sentenced to hard labor for two years, according to a 1983 article in the Washington Post. Patterson has also had other felony convictions after that incarceration, which were all drug-related. He was convicted in both North Carolina and Florida.
Kathy Patterson allegedly had a history of alcohol abuse. In one incident, the school called the Department of Child and Family services to report that they felt Kathy may have been intoxicated when she came to pick up her children. In 2014, DCFS investigated the family for months on allegations of child neglect.
Brent Patterson has given conflicting accounts of the evening. In one statement, he said the family was getting ready for bed when he heard a pop downstairs. He said he went to investigate and found the living room on fire. He says he yelled to his family to get out of the house, and he himself went out the front door but was unable to re-enter. Another version of the events was that he was asleep and thought he heard something in the front yard. When he went outside, the house was consumed by fire and he was unable to re-enter. Brent Patterson also told news reporters the day after the fire that the couch had caught on fire, and there was no mystery or investigation.
Kathy Patterson was taking some psychiatric medications that Brent Patterson said made her “sleepy,” suggesting that may be why she wasn’t able to get herself and children out of the home safely. One of the daughters was taking prescription medication as well. Toxicology studies are being done on the victims, but it will be weeks before those results are ready. Authorities said that all three of the victims died in the master bedroom.
Autopsy results indicate that there was no trauma to the victims and they had soot in their lungs, indicating the victims were breathing when the house was consumed by the blaze.
Authorities are not calling Brent Patterson a suspect but have obtained a search warrant to investigate further, according to WSB-TV. They told the judge about Brent Patterson’s conflicting accounts of the evening and are considering it could be first-degree arson.
In the warrant for the affidavit, it said, “The conflicting statements given by Mr. Patterson could not explain the fire behavior, fire patterns, or the speed of the fire spread. Also, the minor injuries sustained by Mr. Patterson are not consistent with his explanation of his actions that evening in either of his accounts.”
Investigators are looking for any indication of accelerants, flammable liquids or incendiary devices. Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said that he believes Brent Patterson “fed the fire” by breaking out the windows of the house.
Adding more mystery to the family, three of the family dogs died last October, all within a week of each other. The last family dog died in the house fire.
Investigators have seized evidence, including “various notebooks, paperwork, prescription drug bottles and more,” according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Adding to the speculation, the couple was served last week with a lawsuit from a debtor. Brent Patterson wasn’t home at the time so his wife, Kathy Patterson, was served.
1 month since fire claimed life of Kathy Patterson & her 2 daughters, but Brent survived. @MeghanPacker talked to neighbors today.@cbs46
— PCBS46 (@PCBS46) March 9, 2016
At this time, the fire has not been ruled an arson, and Brent Patterson has not been named a person of interest. Fire Department spokesman Tommy Rutledge says that they are looking at “all angles and possibilities.”
[Image via Kathy Patterson/Facebook]
Family Secrets Emerge In Fatal Fire is an article from: The Inquisitr News