WAYNE COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) — A tragic and shocking incident unfolded in Wayne County, West Virginia, leaving a community grieving and searching for answers. A man is now in custody, accused of murder and arson after the bodies of two women were discovered in the aftermath of a devastating house fire.
On Monday, December 16, 2024, firefighters from the Ceredo and Kenova Fire Departments responded to a structure fire on Spring Valley Drive in Wayne County. Once the flames were extinguished, a heartbreaking discovery was made—two people were found dead in the charred remains of the building.
Authorities quickly got to work, and the West Virginia State Police, along with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, began investigating the tragedy. The victims’ bodies were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Charleston for further examination. The following day, autopsies confirmed that both women had been killed, turning the case into a double homicide.
The victims were identified as 34-year-old Britney Brown and her mother, 57-year-old Erma Brown, both from Huntington, West Virginia. This devastating news sent shockwaves through the community, especially since Britney’s fiancé, 42-year-old Joshua Russell Morrow, emerged as the prime suspect.
After a thorough investigation by troopers from the Wayne, Huntington, and Hamlin detachments of the West Virginia State Police, as well as the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office, arrest warrants were issued for Morrow on December 19, 2024. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson.
In the early hours of Friday, December 20, 2024, authorities tracked Morrow to an apartment on 23rd Street in Huntington. With the help of specialized units, they arrested him without any trouble. Morrow is now being held in the Western Regional Jail, awaiting arraignment on these serious charges.
This case took an even more alarming turn earlier in the week when an Amber Alert was issued for Morrow’s 15-month-old daughter, Makynlee Morrow. She had been reported missing on Monday evening, adding urgency to the investigation. Thankfully, the little girl was found safe in Hamlin, providing a glimmer of relief in an otherwise harrowing situation.
As of now, the investigation remains active, with law enforcement continuing to piece together the events leading up to this tragedy. The community is left grappling with the loss of two lives and the unsettling circumstances surrounding their deaths.
