WARREN COUNTY, Ky. – A man was arrested in Clarksville, Tennessee after a body was found in a house fire in Warren County, Kentucky, officials say.
In a news release, Warren County Sheriff’s Office said that on Monday just before 4 a.m., deputies were contacted to help with a fire at 678 Penns Chapel Road. Once deputies arrived at the scene, the house was fully engulfed in flames. Once the fire was put out, fire crew members found a dead man inside the house. He was identified as Wendell Leon Reynolds Jr.
An autopsy was conducted. The sheriff’s office said that the injuries were inconsistent with a fire exposure as the cause of death, according to WKRN.
Authorities conducted additional interviews and were able to develop a person of interest, according to WKRN.
Warren County Sheriff’s Office detectives went to Clarksville, Tennessee for a second interview with the suspect, Sean Birge, 28. During the interview, Warren County Sheriff’s Office said Birge confessed to murdering Reynolds.
Birge was arrested and kept at the Montgomery County Jail in Tennessee on a warrant that was issued with the Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for murder, arson, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse, according to Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
Birge is awaiting extradition from Tennessee back to Kentucky, Warren County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Those assisting at the scene or with this investigation were the Bowling Green Fire Department Investigators, Richardsville Volunteer Fire Department, JC Kirby Corner’s Office, Bowling Green Police and Warren County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Processors, and Medical Center EMS. I’d like to also thank the Clarksville TN. Police for their assistance in facilitating their department to conduct our interview,” said Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
No further information has been released.
