Dad Held in Ohio Fire that Killed Boys

March 10, 2010
GREENFIELD, Ohio -- Thomas Coonrod would have celebrated his 4th birthday Sunday. Instead, his family is mourning the Highland County boy and his 3-year-old brother, Stephen. The boys were killed in a fire that started about 12:30 a.m. at their home at 150 A Lafayette St. in Greenfield, according to a spokesman for the Ohio state fire marshal. Their father, 42-year-old Wesley Coonrod, was taken into custody early Sunday on child endangerment charges and remains jailed at the Highland County Jail.

GREENFIELD, Ohio --

Thomas Coonrod would have celebrated his 4th birthday Sunday.

Instead, his family is mourning the Highland County boy and his 3-year-old brother, Stephen.

The boys were killed in a fire that started about 12:30 a.m. at their home at 150 A Lafayette St. in Greenfield, according to a spokesman for the Ohio state fire marshal.

Their father, 42-year-old Wesley Coonrod, was taken into custody early Sunday on child endangerment charges and remains jailed at the Highland County Jail.

A judge set bond at $500,000 for each count, which officials said was unusually high for those charges.

Firefighters said they found the family's single-story duplex home engulfed in flames when they arrived, but no cause has been determined.

Autopsies will be performed by the Montgomery County Coroners Office, and the boys' mother hopes investigators can learn what happened.

"I just want the truth to come out. They had a fire two weeks ago and they thought it was electrical and it wasn't. It was unknown," said a tearful Felisha Coonrod.

She had fallen on hard times recently and lost her home, so she took the children to her ex-husband's home to stay.

Witnesses said Wesley Coonrod appeared to be intoxicated as another man attempted to gain entry to the burning home, but was ultimately unable to do so.

Copyright 2010 by WLWT.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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