TOPEKA (KSNT) — New information was released by the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office regarding the deaths of a woman and two children in a house fire in Topeka earlier this month.
Firefighters were called at 4:54 a.m. Jan. 20 to a residence on the 900 block of Southwest Warren Ave. after receiving a report of a building fire, according to the district attorney’s office. Firefighters found a “fully involved house fire” and began efforts to put out the flames. A man, later identified as Kyle J. Tyler, was found on the back deck of the house fully clothed. He was taken to a nearby hospital for smoke inhalation treatment.
The bodies of Tyler’s girlfriend Genny Fitzpatrick and two children, Kourtney and Peyton Tyler, were found inside the home, according to the district attorney’s office. Preliminary findings indicate that the victims died as a result of smoke inhalation. While the firefighters put out a major fire on the upper floors of the house, they also had to put out another fire that had started in the basement of the house.
Tyler was arrested on January 25 after being released from the hospital. He is currently incarcerated at the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on the following charges:
- Three counts of first-degree murder
- Aggravated fire
- Two counts of aggravated endangerment of a child
Tyler’s bail has been set at $1 million and he is scheduled for another court hearing at 1:30 p.m. on February 2, 2023.
