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Cops: Man set fire to house, killing 3 kids in Flint

Posted at 2:00 PM, Jun 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-14 14:00:59-04

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Investigators say a man set a Flint house on fire, killing three children, because a woman who was sent to buy drugs didn’t return.

Genesee County prosecutor David Leyton calls it a “horrible case.” He announced murder charges Tuesday against Rodney Dale King Jr. and Erica Starkey, the mother of two of the victims.

The 40-year-old King and 39-year-old Starkey met on a street in the early hours last Friday. Leyton says they smoked crack cocaine at Starkey’s home before Starkey left to buy more drugs.

The prosecutor says King set furniture on fire when Starkey didn’t return. The children killed in the fire were ages 4, 13 and 14.

King and Starkey will appear in court Tuesday. They don’t have lawyers yet.