Two men are accused of murder and arson after two people were found dead early yesterday in a Catlettsburg home that had been set on fire late Monday. Authorities suspect the bodies are those of Phillip and Shaundra Booth, who lived in the home on 10th Street. The Booths' children, ages 4 and 8, escaped the fire with minor injuries.
Kentucky State Police have arrested Patrick M. Campbell, 21, and Jonathon R. Nolan, 24, on two charges of murder and one charge of arson. Both are being lodged in the Boyd County Jail.
Boyd County Coroner Keith Moore said the bodies were found in the living room of the one-story home, near a front door. The cause of death is still pending, but Moore said he thought the victims were killed before the house was set on fire. Authorities think the victims were shot, Moore said.
Preliminary results from an autopsy will reveal more information, he said. The bodies were sent to the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort. Moore is in the process of compiling X-rays and dental records from the Booths to assist in identification.
It took firefighters about two hours to get the fire under control, Moore said. The bodies were found about 12:30 a.m., once the fire was subdued. At that point, Kentucky State Police and an arson investigator were notified.
Three firefighters from the England Hill Fire Department were injured while battling the blaze. Two were treated and released at King's Daughters Medical Center in Ashland for heat exhaustion. One had a seizure at the scene of the fire because of heatstroke and was admitted to the hospital for observation. The Cannonsburg Fire Department also responded to the scene.
Moore said the Booths were acquaintances with the arrested men, but were not close friends. Campbell was arrested at 10 a.m. yesterday at his Ashland home, and Nolan was arrested later that afternoon in his Catlettsburg home, state police said.
