Criminal complaints
DARLINGTON - Armin Wand III and his brother face multiple intentional homicide charges filed late Tuesday alleging they started the Argyle house fire last Friday that killed three of Wand's children and severely burned his wife.
Armin Wand III, 32, Argyle, is charged with three Class A felony counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one for each of his boys who died in the fire. He also faces three Class B felony charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, two counts for his 2-year-old daughter Jessica and one for his wife, Sharon Wand, 27.
Jeremy Wand, 18, Argyle, is also charged with three Class A felony counts of first-degree intentional homicide. He faces two Class B felony charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
Both men also face a Class C felony charge of arson.
The Wands make their first appearance in court at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, in Lafayette County Circuit Court in Darlington.
The criminal complaint alleges:
The brothers conspired beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4. They planned the fire with the intent to kill all four of the elder Wand's children as well as his wife and collect on their life insurance policies. Armin Wand was "tired of his family struggling from day to day" and wanted to make a "fresh start," according to investigators' reports.
Late Thursday, Sept. 6, the brothers met at Armin Wand's residence, 402 Oak St., to continue planning the fire while Sharon Wand and the children were sleeping.
In the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 7, Armin and Jeremy Wand tried multiple times to start the carpet on fire. They then crumpled up sheets of paper and put them on the floor, around the computer in the living room and under the futon where Sharon Wand was sleeping.
Armin Wand said his brother used a lighter to start a fire on the arm of the couch where Joseph, age 3, was sleeping. At some point, and at his brother's direction, Jeremy Wand locked the door to the bedroom where Allen, 7, and Jeffery, 5, were sleeping. The boys' bodies were later found together face down on the floor with the door locked from the outside.
As the fires spread, the men saw Sharon Wand wake up and that she was on fire. Jeremy ran out of the house. Armin Wand, thinking he was caught, went to the sink to partially fill a small glass with water that he then threw on the futon where she'd been sleeping. Then he left the house.
Sharon brought outside 2-year-old Jessica, the only child who survived the fire, and handed him to her husband since her hands were bleeding from burn wounds. Armin Wand took the toddler and tried to put her back in the burning home through a broken bedroom window before a woman arrived and he stopped.
Jeremy Wand reportedly agreed to the arson plan in exchange for $300 cash from the anticipated insurance settlement.
See the Wednesday's edition of the paper for more details on the charges, the Wand family's reaction and the status of Sharon Wand and the 2-year-old girl who survived.
Armin Wand III, 32, Argyle, is charged with three Class A felony counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one for each of his boys who died in the fire. He also faces three Class B felony charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, two counts for his 2-year-old daughter Jessica and one for his wife, Sharon Wand, 27.
Jeremy Wand, 18, Argyle, is also charged with three Class A felony counts of first-degree intentional homicide. He faces two Class B felony charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
Both men also face a Class C felony charge of arson.
The Wands make their first appearance in court at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, in Lafayette County Circuit Court in Darlington.
The criminal complaint alleges:
The brothers conspired beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4. They planned the fire with the intent to kill all four of the elder Wand's children as well as his wife and collect on their life insurance policies. Armin Wand was "tired of his family struggling from day to day" and wanted to make a "fresh start," according to investigators' reports.
Late Thursday, Sept. 6, the brothers met at Armin Wand's residence, 402 Oak St., to continue planning the fire while Sharon Wand and the children were sleeping.
In the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 7, Armin and Jeremy Wand tried multiple times to start the carpet on fire. They then crumpled up sheets of paper and put them on the floor, around the computer in the living room and under the futon where Sharon Wand was sleeping.
Armin Wand said his brother used a lighter to start a fire on the arm of the couch where Joseph, age 3, was sleeping. At some point, and at his brother's direction, Jeremy Wand locked the door to the bedroom where Allen, 7, and Jeffery, 5, were sleeping. The boys' bodies were later found together face down on the floor with the door locked from the outside.
As the fires spread, the men saw Sharon Wand wake up and that she was on fire. Jeremy ran out of the house. Armin Wand, thinking he was caught, went to the sink to partially fill a small glass with water that he then threw on the futon where she'd been sleeping. Then he left the house.
Sharon brought outside 2-year-old Jessica, the only child who survived the fire, and handed him to her husband since her hands were bleeding from burn wounds. Armin Wand took the toddler and tried to put her back in the burning home through a broken bedroom window before a woman arrived and he stopped.
Jeremy Wand reportedly agreed to the arson plan in exchange for $300 cash from the anticipated insurance settlement.
See the Wednesday's edition of the paper for more details on the charges, the Wand family's reaction and the status of Sharon Wand and the 2-year-old girl who survived.