A man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder after his girlfriend and two young girls died in a house fire.
Kyle J. Tyler, 32, was also charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated child endangerment and one count of aggravated arson, Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said.
A fire at a Topeka home on Jan. 20 killed Genny L. Fitzpatrick, 30; Peyton L. Tyler, 9; and Kourtney K. Tyler, 1, all of Topeka.
The house was fully in flames when firefighters arrived. Kagay said the three victims were inside the house and Kyle Tyler was found outside on the rear deck.
Preliminary results indicate the victims died from smoke inhalation, Kagay said. Firefighters extinguished a “major fire" upstairs and a second fire that had been started in the basement, he said.
Kyle Tyler was treated for smoke inhalation before he was arrested. He's being held on $1 million bond.
A public defender listed in court records as Tyler's attorney was not available for comment on Thursday.