Teen charged in arson that killed her adoptive father

The Associated Press

BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. - A 16-year-old girl who allegedly told a friend she wanted to burn her house down was charged Wednesday with setting a house fire that killed her adoptive father.

Codee Wheeler was charged as an adult with homicide, arson, aggravated assault and related offenses in the March 21 fire that killed William Earl Wheeler, 57, a former township supervisor.

According to the criminal complaint, Codee Wheeler had been removed from the home by Indiana County Children and Youth Services in December 2006 after her grandmother called police complaining about the girl's father. Codee Wheeler told authorities her father would walk around the house and into the bathroom while she was showering wearing only his underwear.

During the CYS investigation, William Wheeler was not allowed to have contact with the girl. But she believed he was listening in on phone conversations she was having with her mom and was upset after her mother took all the money from her bank account, police said.

"I could just burn the house down!" Codee said, according to her friend's account to police.

On the day of the fire, Codee Wheeler told police she woke up just before 6 a.m. to find her dad downstairs playing a game on the computer and her mom already gone for work. She said her father, who worked nights, then went to take a nap and she went upstairs to get ready for school, police said.

The girl told police she saw smoke when she came back downstairs. She said she called out to her father but he didn't answer, so she left the home and called her mother, her father's cell phone and 911.

But a bus driver and several neighbors told police they saw smoke coming from the home that morning and saw Codee Wheeler pacing calmly outside talking on a cell phone. The bus driver called out to her and asked if everything was OK, and she responded, "Yeah, it's OK," police said.

A neighbor said the teen "never yelled or screamed or asked anyone for help while she was at the bus stop," according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities believe the fire was set using lighter fluid or a similar accelerant on carpeting near the home's fireplace. The body of William Wheeler was found in his bedroom with burns on his arms and hands, likely suffered as he tried to shield himself from the flames, authorities said.

Wheeler was a Burrell Township supervisor from 1992 to 1994 and later served as tax assessor. He served on the county's Republican Committee and was a member of its Republican Men's Club; he also wrote a column for the Indiana Gazette in the late 1990s.

A message left for Wheeler's wife, Susan, was not immediately returned Wednesday. She told KDKA-TV that she was devastated by her daughter's arrest.

"My daughter did not do this," she told the station. "That's all I have to say."

It was not immediately known if Codee Wheeler had an attorney.