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By Steve Huff in homicide
Tuesday, Nov. 18 2008 @ 6:54PM

genericrimescenephoto.jpgBilli-Jo Smallwood was portrayed as a hero when she rescued two of her children from her burning Fort Campbell, KY home in May, 2007. Now Smallwood has been charged with starting the same fire that killed two of her children, Samuel Fagan, age 9, and Rebekah Smallwood, age 2.

Authorities in Kentucky believe Smallwood "maliciously" set the home she shared with her children and husband ablaze, and that she was trying to destroy the complex she and her husband Wayne Smallwood shared with several other military families.

Billi-Jo Smallwood was badly injured in the fire. Husband Wayne had an ankle injury from jumping out of a second-floor window, but was otherwise okay. Little Nevaeh Smallwood, less than 2 years old at the timeof the fire, also survived.

Billi-Jo received skin-grafts at Vanderbilt University's Medical Center in Nashville, and at the time, friends said she was injured as she tried to save her children. The story was that Billi-Jo was aware something was wrong that night, and she allegedly tried to carry the children who died up to the roof of the building. But Sam was "unconscious" and she couldn't lift him.

Billi-Jo made a MySpace page just to memorialize her son by a previous relationship. The page is private, but this quote was posted beside Sam's photo: "SAM FAGAN....a boy who is truely [sic] missed and remembered by all who ever met him.....WHAT AN AWSOME [sic] KID!"

Billi-Jo's page was private as well. There she wrote, "SPEND EVERY MOMENT AS IT WAS YOUR LAST..." and "PRAY OFTEN......talk to God."

Not long after the fire at Fort Campbell hit the news in May, 2007, someone began a discussion about it on a Topix Message board. Much of the discussion after authorities revealed that the fire was intentionally set seemed to express suspicion that Wayne Smallwood had something to do with the fire.

Several people claiming to be in Smallwood's family eventually posted messages defending him. Then in mid June, 2007, someone with the screen name "rakkasans_frg" posted this message:

"This is Billi-Jo Smallwood the mother who was in the fire.......wife of Wayne Smallwood......I can't say much as it is very difficult to even think about what happened. I will say that my husband did love his children as much as I do. We always will. For those of you who were not there need to get off the internet and have some respect for other people. If you were not there then think of this, do you REALLY know what happened. Stop gossiping and spend some time with your family. Show them how much you love them because I from experience will tell you......you never know when God will take someone away from you. We can't change the past so let's focus on finding who did this and try to make the best of what we have. I beg you to please stop, pray and live right. Would you be sayin g these things if you were on public television where everyone can see you??????? Have some respect if not for us, for our children."

"rakkasans_frg" created a Topix profile. Curiously, the person using that screen name only posted one other time on one other forum: "Fatal Fort Campbell Fire Ruled Arson." There the commenter simply wrote, "God bless the family."

"rakkasans_frg" could have been anyone, but it is worth it to note that Wayne Smallwood was stationed with the 101st Airborne's Third Combat Team, aka the Rakkasans. Was Billi-Jo trying to find a way to monitor the investigation into the fire that killed two of her children? Wouldn't be a big surprise, now would it?

According to the Associated Press, Billi-Jo Smallwood will have a hearing on Friday in a federal court in Gainesville. She will face another arraignment on December 10 in front of a U.S. magistrate judge in Kentucky. [GainesvilleTimes.com]