A man has been accused of stabbing his fiancée and her mother to death, setting their house on fire, and fleeing with his 15-month-old daughter.
Joshua Russell Morrow, 42, faces two counts of first-degree murder for killing his fiancée, Britney Brown, 34, and her mother, Irma Brown, 57. He also faces a first-degree arson charge... Continue reading here ▶
Court documents reveal that Britney had learned Morrow was involved in prior domestic incidents, which led to her and their 15-month-old daughter moving out of the home. Britney reportedly had sole custody of their child.
After the incident, police issued an Amber Alert. Morrow was arrested, and the baby was found unharmed.
Investigators believe, based on the autopsy reports, that both victims died before the fire was started. Surveillance footage from a neighbor’s camera showed Morrow arriving at his house on Spring Valley Drive in Wayne County at around 7:55 a.m. on Sunday and leaving 28 minutes later.
At 9:42 p.m., Morrow allegedly dropped his daughter off at a friend’s house in Hamlin, about 40 miles northeast of the crime scene. According to the complaint, Morrow told the friend to take care of the child because people were trying to “put him in jail.” He added that “they” were “all gone” and had gone up in a “blaze.”
Morrow’s Subaru was later located on Maple Street in Hamlin. Investigators recovered a gun and knives from the vehicle.
This is not Morrow’s first encounter with the law. In 2001, at the age of 18, he was indicted on a murder charge for the death of Edward D. Washington. Morrow pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
State officials are now investigating when and why Morrow was released from prison.
Morrow is scheduled to appear in Wayne County court for a preliminary hearing on Monday.
