Reginald Carter is charged with 3 counts of murder and 1 count of arson
House fire not cause of 3 deaths in Gary home
Contributed By:The 411 News
Alleged perpetrator shot victims, then set house on fire
Three counts of murder and one count of arson were filed today by Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter against Reginald Joseph Carter, resulting from Friday’s midday house fire in Gary.
After Gary firemen responded to the alarm at 11:15 a.m. Friday, they discovered 3 bodies inside. The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified one of the victims, Dwayne Deon Jones, as a resident of the home at 3539 W. 20th Avenue. Today’s probable cause document named the other 2 victims as Nefretiri Jones and Yoasha Carter, relatives of Jones and residents of the home.
Nefretiri Jones was the mother of Dwayne. Yoasha was her niece. The charging document says Reginald Carter was Yoasha Carter’s boyfriend and also lived at the home. The couple also had a child.
Saturday’s autopsy reports on the three family members revealed they died from gunshot wounds that occurred before the fire. That finding was based on an absence of soot in the victims’ windpipes.
House at 3539 W. 20th Avenue in Gary where 3 bodies were found
The charging document says Reginald Carter arrived at the scene after the fire was contained and was prevented from entering. Carter was taken into custody late Friday after he was interviewed by investigators.
The NWI Times and the Post-Tribune are reporting Yoasha Carter escaped from a December 2016 fire in Gary’s Oak Knoll Apartments on the city’s west side. That fire, two days before Christmas, claimed the lives of 3 toddlers – Yoasha’s two children and a third child. Yoasha and her husband Willie Carter were not able to get to the children who were in an upstairs bedroom.
Story Posted:10/28/2019
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