Bodies of three kids, woman found in torched trailer in Washington state; man arrested

A Washington state man was arrested Sunday for allegedly setting a trailer on fire and killing three children and a woman inside, police said.

Matthew Timothy Wetherington, 34, of Port Angeles, was being held on four counts of first-degree murder and arson, the Port Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

Wetherington was seen running from the scene early Saturday morning as a fire ignited at the Welcome Inn Trailer Park in Port Angeles, northwest of Seattle, police said.

Matthew Timothy Wetherington, 34, of Port Angeles, Washington, was arrested Sunday in connection with the deaths of a woman and three children whose bodies were found in a trailer that had been set on fire.

Bodies that appeared to be a woman and three children were recovered from the trailer, the statement said.

Police did not identify them, but an earlier statement said four of the trailer’s residents — Valerie Kambeitz, 34, and three children under 10 — were unaccounted for.

Authorities initially described Wetherington as an unaccounted for person of interest in the case. He was later found at a campsite that is being investigated as a crime scene, NBC affiliate KING-TV reported.

The Associated Press reported that a marriage license was issued on May 1 in Clallam County for Kambeitz and Wetherington.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Wetherington has a lawyer. He is expected to appear Monday in Clallam County Superior Court, police said.

Wetherington has several prior criminal convictions, including child molestation.

Images from the scene showed the trailer’s charred wreckage. A person who saw the fire told KING-TV that the flames looked like rain. “It was raining hot amber everywhere,” the person said.

source: nbcnews.com