Fire breaks out at Joplin ‘house of horrors’
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Firefighters battled a fire Thursday at the Joplin home at the center of a high-profile child abuse and neglect case.
The blaze broke out at 610 E. Pool St., the same home Police Chief Richard Pearson previously described as a “house of horrors” when investigators entered the home last month.
There was heavy, yet localized, fire damage along at least one side of the house, with damage extending into the eaves and roofline.
The cause of the fire has not yet been released.
The home has been unoccupied by the four defendants in the criminal case because 50-year-old Shane Ross, 46-year-old Crystal Ross, 25-year-old Hannah Ross and 19-year-old Megan Ross, all of Joplin, have been jailed while their cases move through court.
Police began investigating the family Aug. 9 after a 12-year-old girl escaped from the home.
Investigators said the girl, who weighed about 50 pounds, was found wandering in Joplin wearing only a diaper and forced to sleep in a locked dog kennel.
