PENSACOLA, Fla. (Court TV) — A Florida man is facing several charges after allegedly murdering two children and setting fire to a trailer with them inside.
John Henry Walston is charged with homicide, arson and sex assault. (Escambia County Sheriff’s Office)
John Henry Walston Jr., 27, faces a list of charges including first-degree murder, arson, sexual assault and torturing an animal after the Nov. 7 fire in Pensacola. First responders battled flames at a trailer before going inside to discover the bodies of two children.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said investigators were able to determine that the children, ages 7 and 9, were killed before the fire was set, and one of them had also been sexually assaulted. Deputies said that Walston escaped from the fire and was found at a hospital receiving treatment.
Witnesses told WEAR that the children’s mother ran into the trailer when she saw the fire to try to save her children; she was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries. Tyler Smith, who identified himself as the father of one of the children to WEAR, said the kids had been staying over at the trailer, which Walston owned.
“I don’t know what else I can say about this horrible event except please, hug your children,” Simmons said.
Walston is due back in court on November 14 for a pretrial detention hearing.
