Three victims in Maryland house fire were shot before blaze, per preliminary autopsy report

3 victims in MD house fire were shot before blaze: autopsy report

The three people killed in a Washington County house fire last month died from gunshot wounds, according to a preliminary autopsy report.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. - The three people killed in a Washington County house fire last month died from gunshot wounds, according to a preliminary autopsy report.

What we know:

The fire took place on November 13 in Clear Spring, Maryland, where the first-floor residence was destroyed, and three bodies were recovered. 

According to Maryland State Police, the three victims all died from gunshot wounds based on a preliminary autopsy report. FOX 5 DC has not yet received a final report from the medical examiner. 

According to the police report for 47-year-old Darnell Hawkins, who now faces multiple murder charges, when state fire marshals investigated the scene, they recognized a pour pattern on the concrete of the house that a police dog positively alerted as a fire accelerant.

They also noticed trauma to the victims inconsistent with fire and called in Maryland State Police.

Police say the bodies of two victims — Brittany Nicole Ray and Harold Tyrese Nathaniel Flichman — were located in the basement with apparent gunshot wounds.

They also located Brianna Mae Weishaar on the ground level, also suffering from a gunshot wound.

Police say they reviewed Ring doorbell footage that shows a Black male identified as Hawkins pushing Weishaar onto the porch in the early morning hours before the fire and dragging her into the house by her hair.

The male can be heard saying, "Clean everything … the whole house."

Dig deeper:

Three others are charged in the case, including Maurice Mouzon of Brooklyn, Maryland.

According to the police report for Kierra White — who is charged as an accessory to murder after the fact for allegedly picking up Mouzon and Hawkins in her car — Hawkins and Mouzon were covered in blood that morning, according to a witness.

The reports indicate drugs were involved.

Hawkins was serving a life sentence behind bars after he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced in 1997. He was released on parole on October 2 of this year.