ST. LOUIS • Daybreak was still an hour away when Candace Miller’s sister shook her awake Sunday morning with word that the neighboring home was ablaze.
Parked by the curb was the vehicle used by the couple who lived next door in a two-story home. Miller sprung into action.
“I went to the white car parked in front of their home and leaned on the horn hoping somebody would hear me from inside,” she said.
No one emerged.
By the time firefighters arrived shortly after 4:30 a.m. Sunday, fire had spread through the two-story dwelling in the 4400 block of Elmbank Avenue in the Greater Ville neighborhood.
Inside a middle bedroom fire personnel discovered the bodies of Melvin Thomas, 52, and Marquita Jones, 30. With the couple was their eight-month-old daughter, Madison Thomas.
St. Louis Fire Capt. Greg Redmond said the cause of the fire was unknown. Police said the St. Louis Bomb and Arson Squad was investigating the circumstances surrounding the family’s death.
A pit bull named “Poncho” survived the blaze.
‘This is devastating’
Miller said she feared the worst when she honked the car horn and no one came out.
“I was sure they were in the house,” said Miller. “You kind of knew they were dead, in the back of my mind.”
Miller, 52, has lived next door to the site of the fatal fire for 40 years. She knew the victims casually.
Thomas, Jones and their daughter had moved in and out before moving in more permanently about four months ago, according to Miller.
Marquita Jones’ brother, Terrance Cross, said the couple was residing at the Elmbank address for Thomas to comply with the terms of home confinement. Cross, 37, of St. Louis, said he did not know the reason Thomas was being monitored.
His sister, Cross said, also had a residence in St. Louis County.
Friends and relatives arriving at the scene in late morning recalled a couple brought closer by the birth of their daughter.
“Everybody is in an uproar. This is devastating. All three were bundle of joys. They loved their baby,” said family friend Stephanie Townsend, 51.
“To lose three family members at once is a lot. The family need prayers.”
David Carson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Denise Hollinshed • 314-340-8319
@Hollinshed57 on Twitter
———
©2016 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
