KOKOMO, Ind. — Deputies arrested a man on preliminary murder and arson charges after a 73-year-old woman was found dead in a Kokomo house fire on Christmas Day.
According to the Howard County Sheriff's Department, dispatchers received a call about a possible house fire in the 3000 block East on County Road 300 South around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 25. The caller allegedly told dispatchers that they could see smoke coming out of the home, and they were unsure if anyone was inside.
"I mean, it's something you're really not expecting on Christmas," said Randy Whitacre, who witnessed the fire. "I was able to grab the door handle, turn it, and I was able to break it, so I swung the door open, but the whole house was so engulfed in smoke. We knew that we couldn't go in it, so at that point, we ran around to the back, and we tried to do the same thing. I got the back door open as well, but we still couldn't go in, and at that point, we just had to step back."
Kokomo firefighters responded to the scene in approximately 12 minutes and found one person inside the home while putting out the fire.
Unfortunately, 73-year-old Pamela K. Hunter, the woman found inside the burning house, was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff's department said preliminary findings revealed possible "blunt force trauma" and that the manner of death was ruled a homicide. A final determination is pending toxicology and laboratory results.
Neighbors say that for the past eight months, the woman inside the home had a man living with her.
Law enforcement would later name that man as 44-year-old Curtis Freeman, calling him a person of interest.
"She brought him in to be a friendly person, just to take care of him, get him on his feet, and yeah, that didn't work out too well. It's a sad situation," said Brett Whitacre, who lives across the street.
On Tuesday, Howard County officials were contacted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in southern Indiana with a report that Freeman was seen in a liquor store in their county. Further investigation revealed that Freeman had likely received a ride from the store to a location in Dubois County. Freeman was located and taken into custody in Dubois County on a Vigo County warrant for failure to appear.
On Dec. 27, detectives interviewed Freeman. At the conclusion of the interview, he was arrested, transported to the Howard County Jail and preliminarily charged with murder and arson, a spokesperson said.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Shirey or call the Howard County Dispatch Center at 765-457-1105.