Flora Fire | Resignations, conflicting reports and suspicions of fraud cloud investigation into fire that killed four girls – Indianapolis News | Indiana Weather | Indiana traffic

Flora Fire: A Search for Answers“ is a four-part series that aired on WISH-TV and chronicles the 2016 deaths of four young girls in a deliberate fire in Flora, Indiana.

The search for answers | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

More than seven years have passed since a devastating arson killed four young girls in Flora, Indiana, and the biggest question still remains: Who is responsible?

On November 21, 2016, a fire ravaged the two-story semi-detached house. Gaylin Rose escaped the fire, but all four of her children, Keyana Davis, 11, Keyara Phillips, 9, Kerriele McDonald, 7, and Kionnie Welch, 5, died that night.

In an exclusive interview with I-Team 8’s Dakarai Turner, Rose emotionally spoke from her heart and shared the anguish she has endured since that tragic night in 2016.

She says she’s tried to stay hopeful while waiting for answers that never come.

“My family was wiped out in front of my eyes for no reason,” Rose said. “They were here and then they’re gone, and I just don’t understand it.”

Rose’s key questions go to the heart of the investigation and address possible omissions and conflicts of interest.

She tells I-Team 8 she wonders if her daughters could have been saved if the smoke detector had been working, or if small-town politics would have obstructed justice, and what the case stands today.

“I just want my babies,” she said.

During our conversation with Rose, she brought up a previously unreported twist in the case. A letter dated July 19, 2019, addressed to her and her attorneys from the Indiana State Police. The letter expresses her desire to speak out about the fire and grants Rose immunity in connection with her “alleged illegal drug activity.”

It’s unclear what the alleged drug use has to do with the investigation, although Rose admitted to using marijuana “occasionally.”

Still, the letter said Indiana State Police investigators wanted to speak with her to get more information about “who she frequently associates with.”

Even though the letter was nearly five years old, Rose said she had not met with investigators. She protests her innocence. “I’m not hiding anything,” she said.

“I will talk to them … but (there has been no) communication. “But don’t ask me any intrusive questions that have nothing to do with the fire,” she said.

When I-Team 8 reached out to Indiana State Police investigators to ask if they still wanted to speak with Rose, a department spokesperson said only that they were “willing to speak with anyone who may have information…”

We have also attempted to resolve the immunity offer with the Carroll Count District Attorney’s Office, although they have not yet returned our request for comment.

State police remain tight-lipped and declined our invitation to speak in an on-camera interview about immunity and the investigation, highlighting issues that some say permeate the investigation.

Rose’s friend Kathy Clendening believes the case remains shrouded in secrecy many years later.

“This case is just a secret. Try to get some information. I dare you,” she said.

Secrecy and leadership changes

Conflicting reports about the cause of the fire have led to speculation and rumors.

Shortly after the fire, in November 2016, the Indiana State Fire Marshall’s Office initially reported that the cause of the fire was undetermined.

However, in January 2017, Indiana Department of Homeland Security investigators released a report concluding that the fire was intentionally set.

Changes in key personnel have also made gathering new information difficult at best.

Adam Randle was chief of the Flora Fire Department when the fire broke out. He is also the son of Indiana State Fire Marshall’s Office Chief Fire Investigator Dennis Randle.

Adam Randle’s boss at the time was Josh Ayres.

Ayres, who was president of Flora City Council, owned and rented the house Rose rented where her four girls lost their lives.

In June 2017, Dennis Randle resigned from his position amid questions about his handling of the case.

That same year after the fire, Adam Randle resigned from the fire department, Carroll County Prosecutor Robert Ives retired, and a new state police investigator took over the police investigation.

Before retiring from the fire department, Josh Ayres was Adam Randle’s chief.

Ayres was president of the Flora City Council and the owner and landlord of the house where Rose had been living when her daughters were killed.

Those close to Rose and her family said the resignations and retirements have further tarnished the integrity of the investigation and left them with distrust and doubt.

Private fire investigators were hired by Rose and her landlord’s attorneys as part of a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by Rose.

Their investigators expressed conflicting assessments about whether there would have been enough time to escape the fire if there had been working smoke alarms in the home.

Rose’s investigators concluded that Rose had had enough time to escape the house after rescuing her children; A defense fire investigator came to the opposite conclusion.

In a separate filing, documents revealed that an insurance policy had been taken out on the home two months before the fire.

I-Team 8 spoke with Joe Fitter, professor of finance at Indiana University, about the policy. Fitter has no connection to the case but commented on the “unusual” timing of the insurance policy and home appraisal that were part of the investigation.

According to documents submitted as part of the investigation, a policy was taken out on August 31, 2016 on the home where Rose and her children lived. The policy included liability coverage for the “dwelling” in the amount of $392,882 and was effective September 15th. Also attached to those documents was a home appraisal dated Sept. 10, which showed the home was valued at just $45,000.

However, Fitter concluded that the policy was written before the assessment was conducted.

“When policies are first written, they are often based on a verbal conversation with the property owner,” Fitter said.

“Maybe later an insurance adjuster or writer would go to the property and physically look at the property,” he said.

Although that timing has been reviewed, Fitter said the timing raised some red flags regarding the policies and the fire.

“If an insurance policy looks like a lottery ticket, suspicion of insurance fraud can arise,” he said.

The search for answers | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4