Heater Sparked Fire That Killed Mo. Mom, Two Kids

March 25--UNION -- The mobile home fire that killed a 24-year-old woman and her two children here Friday night was likely caused by a space heater, authorities said Monday.

"It appears the fire started in the living room, where a space heater was located," Police Chief Norman J. Brune said. "It appears accidental. There is no reason to suspect foul play."

Killed in the fire were Samantha Cooksey and her children, Allison Cooksey, 6, and Logan Berger, 1.

Steven Berger, who was Cooksey's boyfriend and the father of Logan, also lived at the home, but he was at work at the time of the fire, authorities said.

The Union Fire Protection District responded to the 400 block of Independence at about 10:30 p.m. Friday. The home was engulfed in flames, police said. After the fire was out, firefighters found the bodies.

Susan Carroll, an aunt of Samantha Cooksey, said she got a frantic Friday night call from her mother, who was driving by and saw the mobile home in flames. Carroll asked her mother if she saw Cooksey and the kids standing safely on the street, but she said he didn't.

"All of the family is just in shock," said Carroll, who lives in Union.

Sam was an incredible mom," Carroll said. "She never had anything bad to say about anybody. She had a sweet, soft-spoken voice ... and she always let you know how she loved you."

Carroll said Cooksey's boyfriend was the father of Logan but had helped raise Allison since she was a baby. "He raised her as his own child," Carroll said. "Now he has nothing. He lost everything."

Berger's aunt took him to get two pairs of jeans from Walmart, and he is now staying with his mother. Through a spokesperson, Berger declined to talk to the Post-Dispatch.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

A fund to help cover funeral expenses has been set up at United Bank of Union in the name of Cooksey's brother, Richard Dean Cooksey Jr. The bank is at 15 E. Main Street, Union, Mo., 63084.

The Zion United Church of Christ at 115 S. Washington Avenue in Union is also taking donations of clothing and household goods for Berger.

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