Flora Fire Victims

Case background and investigation

In the early hours of November 21, 2016, fire broke out in a rented two-story home at 103 East Columbia Street in Flora, a small town in Carroll County, Indiana. According to the Indiana State Police, four sisters died: Keyana Davis, 11, Keyara Phillips, 9, Kerriele McDonald, 7, and Kionnie Welch, 5. Their mother, Gaylin Rose, and two police officers who responded to the scene suffered injuries that the agency described as not life-threatening. WISH-TV reported that the first 911 call came at 3:35 a.m. and that the girls died from asphyxiation and inhalation of carbon monoxide and soot.

The cause of the fire was not settled at once. According to WRTV and WISH-TV, the state fire marshal's office first listed the cause as undetermined. On January 28, 2017, WRTV reported, the finding was changed to an intentionally set fire after investigators said accelerants had been detected. The Carroll County Comet reported that the criminal case was opened in February 2017. The Indiana State Police lead the investigation, with help from the Carroll County Sheriff's Department, the Flora Police Department and fire investigators from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

The investigation drew criticism in its first year. WRTV reported that investigators later revised their account of the accelerant evidence, saying it had been found in one location rather than several, and that the state fire investigator who worked on the case resigned in June 2017. The same report said the Flora fire chief resigned in November 2017 and that the Indiana NAACP became involved in October 2017, raising concerns about how the case was being handled. State police denied that detectives had mishandled the investigation, according to an Associated Press report carried by WNDU.

An outside review was then ordered. WNDU reported that the Indianapolis Fire Department began examining the case in early December 2017 and concluded on January 25, 2018, that the fire was arson, in agreement with the state's finding. State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said the criminal investigation would continue.

No suspect has been publicly named and no one has been charged. The house was demolished in October 2023, according to the Carroll County Comet. In July 2025, the newspaper reported, FBI agents and state police returned to Flora to talk with residents, and a joint statement from the two agencies asked anyone who saw, heard or was told anything about the fire to come forward, including people who had already been interviewed. A state police spokesman declined to say what prompted the renewed effort.

The Indiana State Police continue to list the case as an open criminal investigation and offer a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Tips can be submitted to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.