A 27-year-old Florida man has been arrested after allegedly murdering two children, ages 9 and 7, and then setting fire to the mobile home where the victims were found early Friday morning.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO), John Henry Walston Jr. faces two counts of premeditated murder, one count of sexual assault on a victim under 12, and one count of arson following the horrific incident at the Grand Oak Mobile Home Park.
The victims have been identified as 9-year-old Vayden Orum and 7-year-old Rayden Smith. Sheriff Chip Simmons confirmed the children were killed before the blaze began, saying, “[Walston] assaulted one, then killed them both before saving himself.”
Witnesses described a harrowing scene as the children’s mother tried to rush into the burning home to save them. “She went into the trailer trying to get them. That’s a mother’s love,” said neighbor John Wenzel. The mother survived but was hospitalized with severe burns.
Tyler Smith, the father of one victim and stepfather of the other, said Walston was known to the family and that the children had been staying at his trailer for the night.
Walston was treated for minor injuries before being booked into jail. He is being held without bond, with his first court appearance scheduled for November 26.
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