Father charged in fire that killed his three sons

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The father of three young boys killed in a house fire in Argyle Sept. 7, is under arrest for starting the blaze – and an uncle of the boys is also in custody.

The state Justice Department said yesterday that the father, 32-year-old Armin Wand, III, and 18-year-old Jeremy Wand face possible charges of arson with intent to defraud. Both are in the Lafayette County Jail awaiting court action – and both are from Argyle, which is about 30 miles southwest of Madison.

Dana Brueck of the Justice Department said what led to the arrests would not be disclosed until prosecutors file their case in court. The blaze started just after 3 a.m. Sept. 7, and it killed brothers Allen Wand, 7; Jeffrey Wand, 5; and Joseph Wand, 3.

Their 27-year-old mother Sharon was hospitalized in critical condition at last word at UW Hospital in Madison. She had been carrying a four-month-old fetus that died from injuries Sharon sustained after she had run back into the house to try and save the kids and a beam fell on her.

Her sister, Amy Peterson, told WKOW TV that the mother also handed a two-year-old daughter to safety. The girl was treated and released from a hospital along with Armin Wand.

Armin – one of the arson suspects – told WKOW on Sept. 8 that he tried to fight the blaze but realized it was too big to handle by himself. He said his wife couldn’t get to a phone to call 911, so he ran outside to get help.

A resident who lives about 100 yards away told the Wisconsin State Journal he was awakened by the father’s screams. The paper also said Armin was convicted in 2003 of violating a restraining order in a child abuse case – and he has a number of small claims and forfeitures against him.

The man’s father say says his son has done nothing wrong, that the house had poor wiring and investigators have said lightning could have started the fire.

An investigation of the fire continues, and the state Justice Department said it would take over the prosecution of the case. Armin and Jeremy were charged Sept. 11 with a total of 13 criminal counts for house fire.

Armin Wand is charged with three counts of homicide, a single count of arson, and three counts of attempted homicide – two for trying to kill his daughter twice. Jeremy Wand is charged with the same crimes, but he faces two attempted homicide counts instead of three.

Prosecutors say Armin was may have been so desperate to get out of his financial and marital problems, that he tried killing his family and burning their house for the insurance money. They also say he allegedly tried to push his two-year-old daughter back into the burning house after she escaped with her mother.

But prosecutors said Wand was, “tired of his family struggling from day-to-day” and sick of hearing his wife complain about a lack of money. Wand was also quoted as saying they were considering a divorce. And prosecutors said he committed the crimes to get a “fresh start.”

The state said Wand tried to kill the family as they slept, and he allegedly enlisted Jeremy Wand to start fires in certain spots. The state is handling the case because Lafayette County District Attorney Charlotte Doherty is retiring after this year.

Tags: wisconsin, crime, courts