CLARKSVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Teresa Dick testified Thursday that the home she shared with husband Lloyd Holt and three children was engulfed in flames before they could reach their 10-year-old daughter Molly Holt.
Molly Holt was found dead and chained by the ankles to her bed with a padlock after the Nov. 10 fire was extinguished. Dick, her husband and the two other children escaped. The parents are charged with manslaughter and false imprisonment, but are to be tried separately.
On Thursday, Jurors heard a tape of Dick, 31, telling investigators she was awakened by Molly's screams at 11:30 p.m. She said Molly was chained to the bed to keep her away from the other children.
Molly's grandfather, Henry Holt, said after the fire that the girl had behavior problems, was ``hyper,'' and couldn't read or write.
``We got up and tried to get her out,'' said Dick, who began crying. ``We were trying to get to her, but we couldn't get to her. I had to holler for her, 'Madeline, where are you?' And then, I finally found her.''
Investigators asked her if she thought Molly could have gotten out if she weren't chained to the bed.
``No,'' Dick responded. ``I don't think so ... She had busted out three of her windows. One of them was boarded shut. We were afraid every night. ... We took her to the doctor for sleeping pills, you know, but it didn't even phase her.''
Authorities say the fire appeared to be accidental.
Also Thursday, Johnny Wood testified that he and his wife were checking on a brush fire burning on his property when he spotted Dick's house on fire.
``I stopped to ask them if that was their house burning, and Lloyd Holt said, 'Yes, we lost everything,''' Wood said.
Wood testified that Holt declined when Woods offered Holt a cell phone. He said he called for help and took the family to the home of Holt's brother for the night.
The trial is to resume Friday with a witness from the State Medical Examiners Office in Little Rock.
