The Associated Press
MATHIAS, W.Va. — A Virginia woman accused of killing three family members in West Virginia was embroiled in a heated custody battle with one of the victims, according to the Hardy County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies also said Ann Taylor, 34, recently married 34-year-old Nakia Heath Keller, her alleged accomplice in last Friday’s triple homicide.
The two Folks Run, Va., residents were arrested in Virginia on fugitive from justice warrants charging them with three counts of murder and one count of arson. Each waived extradition to West Virginia. The sheriff’s office did not know if they had attorneys.
The bodies of Taylor’s ex-husband, Chip, along with his wife, 38-year-old Alaina Taylor, and her 5-year-old daughter, Kaylee Grace Whetzel, were discovered inside their burned home in Mathias.
Police say all three victims had been shot. The fire was ruled an arson.
Dennis Taylor was a firefighter in Rockingham County, Va.
Alaina Taylor was a member of the Mathias-Baker Volunteer Rescue Squad.
The child’s father, Michael Whetzel, said his daughter was a kindergarten student at East Hardy Early Middle School who loved Scooby Doo and Sponge Bob SquarePants. She also loved to hunt, fish and play tee-ball.
A memorial for her is set for Thursday morning.
Alaina Taylor’s funeral is set for Friday, while funeral arrangements for Dennis Taylor are pending.
Copyright 2009 Charleston Newspapers