No cause yet in fire that killed 3 kids

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - One week after a fire that killed three children, ages 1 and 3, investigators are still trying to find out how it started.

Police have told us it looks like 3-year-old fraternal twins Teniyah and Tevin Williams Jr. and their 1-year-old sister Tyonna Henderson were alone in their Interfaith Apartments home when the fire started. Their mother, Jonetta Woods, and the man she was involved with, Fred Glespie Jr., have blamed each other.

On Monday, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was on the scene helping local investigators to determine the cause of the fire. They focused on the first floor of the apartment, but still have not said what caused the fire or where it started.

A source told 24 Hour News 8 that the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety asked the ATF for help because federal officials have more resources and expertise, not necessarily because the fire is suspicious.

Within sight of the fire-damaged building is a makeshift memorial to the children.

Woods, who has previously been investigated for leaving her children alone, said that on the day of the fire she left Glespie to watch the children while she stepped out to repay a loan.

Glespie,  currently in the Berrien County Jail on unrelated charges, told 24 Hour News 8 last weekend that is not true.

"I thought nobody was in there until they told me," he said.

He blamed Woods for leaving her children alone before, but also said investigators have repeatedly interviewed him about the fire.

"They already looking at me like I'm a criminal," he said.

Pastor Strick Strickland of Second Baptist Church in Kalamazoo is asking for the community's patience with the investigation.

"I don't think that with this particular tragedy it's an overnight process," he said. "We owe it to all parties involved, along with the memory of those children, to be patient enough to truly find the truth."

Fire investigators expect to have some answers -- like where and how the fire started -- by the end of the week.

It is still unknown if or when there will be any criminal charges.