Meet Convicted 35-Count Rabbit Abuser
Fire on Military Road: The Frensley Family Murders
Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 10:02 pm
The one-story home at 169 Military Road was on fire. Locals knew that Kristy (or Kristi, according to one source) Frensley lived there with her children: Kayla Williams, her 17-year-old daughter, born prior to Kristi's marriage to Jeffery Hugh Frensley; Kortney Frensley, Jeff and Kristi's daughter, an 9th-grader; and little Ethan Frensley, age 4. Kayla and Kortney went to Trigg County High.
The Roaring Springs, KY Volunteer Fire Dept. responded to the fire when it was reported around 5 p.m. CT on Wednesday. They found much more than the everyday tragedy of a house fire. They found 3 dead bodies. Kristy Frensley was the only living person on the scene. She was gravely injured.
Police believe the three bodies found at the scene -- most likely Kayla, Kortney, and Ethan -- were murdered.
Whatever happened at 169 Military Road may have happened between 4 and 5 p.m. Neighbors told local media that their kids got off the bus with the Frensley kids. By the time law enforcement began processing the scene, it was clear to witnesses that something dramatic had happened. One witness even told the Kentucky New Era of seeing a body in the rear of the burning home. The witness, a Fort Campbell soldier named Jason White, said, "I've seen enough caskets... and then to come home and see this..."
Another neighbor told of the intensity of the flames at the Frensley home. Richard Coleman described seeing thick black clouds of smoke and said that by the time he and his wife arrived, "the house was fully engulfed." Coleman continued, "There was nothing they could have done at the time to save the structure."
Coleman also heard a woman -- possibly Kristy Frensley -- calling for help.
Kristy Frensley's middle child, Kortney, had a MySpace at one point: Kortney_Frensley. It was precisely what you might expect from a middle-schooler in tiny Roaring Springs, KY. From Kortney's "About me":
God always comes first for me!!!Hey my name is Kortney if you don't know me!! I'm in the 8th grade WHOOT WHOOT!!! I love to make people laugh!!! I'm a little crazy once you get to know me!!! I love to be different cause who wants to be like everybody else, it kinda gets boring after awhile!! I like to yell random things && I'm very loud!! But I'm not annoying lol!! WE IN THE BED LIKE EWW EWW EWW(inside joke)lol Liz!! NO BUTTON WHOOOT WHOOT I love you KIERSTYN!!I like to yell old songs so everybody will look at me && give me wierd faces lol!! I have msn so add me!! Kortney_and_austin@hotmail.com!! I currently am single and pretty much hating it so any of you boys that think you can handle me can give me a call!
Kortney told a bit more about herself in her MySpace "General" interests, writing, "I like to just be myself and I like to go muddin &;&; I like to ride dirtbikes &;&; skateboard which I really can't do but I'm into learning new things!!!&;&; basically do what ever any other teenager would do!!"
Kortney also wrote that her hero was "My sister Kayla!!! She is the best sister a girl can ever have!! I miss && love you soooo much!!"
The photos in Kortney's MySpace album were testament to how important her family was to her. Knowing how the siblings may have died, seeing Kortney's pictures of her brother, sister, and mother was arresting. Inevitably, the questions came, all of them summed up simply with the biggest question asked by anyone when crimes like this hit the news -- why?
Autopsies on the children as well an examination by forensic anthropologist Emily Craig may bring some answers, soon. Kristy Frensley, who is in serious condition at a medical facility in Cadiz, may be able to answer some questions as well. She was "recently divorced" from Jeffery Frensley, according to one report, and comments on the Kentucky New Era article already point towards some local suspicion towards him. And it's hard to avoid the fact most of the time, cases like this are domestic in nature.
Police have made no reference to a person of interest in this case, and the investigation is ongoing.
An additional link: Kortney Frensley's profile on Bebo.com.
[Sources: Kentucky New Era and WSMV.com.]
Tags: arson, Ethan Frensley, family murder, Kayla Williams, Kentucky, Kortney Frensley, Kortney_Frensley, Kristi Frensley, Kristy Frensley, murder, Roaring Springs, Trigg County
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