For most kids, Christmas and the days that follow are some of the best days of the year. But for three young children in Aguanga, California, the day after Christmas was the worst day of their lives. They died in a horrible fire that did not have to happen.
Early on the morning of December 26, 1995, people in Aguanga heard a loud explosion. Neighbors came running to find a large mobile home burning to the ground. Flames shot toward the sky, and thick black smoke was everywhere. Kathy James lived in the mobile home with her four young children. She and her seven year old son, Jimmy, managed to escape. But her other three children were trapped in the trailer. Neighbors could hear them screaming for help.
Kathy was seriously burned, and she seemed out of it. She insisted that she did not need help, and she did not show much concern for her three children who were still trapped in the fire. She did not even want anyone to call the police or the fire department. When police and firefighters finally did arrive, Kathy wandered off.
The fire was put out, but it was to late for the three children. Investigators soon learned the reason Kathy had been acting so strangely and why she disappeared. The fire was caused by her "cooking" a batch of meth in her kitchen. The chemicals in this drug are very explosive. Police assumed that some of them spilled onto the stove and exploded.
Few drugs are strong enough to kill a mother's love for her children. Methamphetamine is one of them.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|