A father accused of killing his three children by setting their home on fire is in police custody in New Orleans. Joseph Washington, 29, allegedly committed the heinous crime after a domestic disturbance with the children's mother, Amy Dounseroux. The mother called police, reportedly telling them Washington made threats against her and the children and begging for help.
Firefighters arrived at a home at 4911 America St. just after midnight on Wednesday. Sadly, they were too late. The fire was blazing, and the couple's three children, an 8-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl, and a 3-year-old boy, were trapped inside. Washington fled but family members begged him to turn himself in, shocked that he could be involved in such a tragedy.
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The children's mother made a frantic 911 call.
Dounseroux desperately wanted help from the police when she made the call, according to KNOE. In a 911 call obtained by the news outlet, she told a dispatcher that Washington was threatening to burn the house down and that she needed them to come right away.
"He's screaming on the phone. I hear the kids screaming. Y'all are just going to have to break through the door. Don't let anything happen please!" the mother begged the dispatcher.
Firefighters got to the home quickly and found the older children still alive. They were taken to a hospital, where they later died. The 3-year-old perished in the fire.
Washington left the scene.
A neighbor's surveillance camera captured Washington getting into a car and driving away, KNOE reported. As the search for the suspected killer ensued, his father, Troy McDonnell, pleaded with him to turn himself in. "Joseph! Turn yourself in, Joseph! And that ain't no lie,"McDonnell begged. "Turn yourself in and call me! Turn yourself in!"
Nearly 12 hours later, police found the father's car submerged in the Mississippi River, but he was not in the vehicle. According to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department, police received a tip that Washington was traveling in another car.
"Washington was apprehended on the I-610 Eastbound at the Elysian Fields exit, when the vehicle he was in stopped and he attempted to flee by jumping off the overpass," police explained in the release.
He was taken to a hospital for injuries he received in the jump, and his condition is unknown.
There was reportedly a history of domestic violence between the couple.
Fox 8 reported that Washington and Dounseroux allegedly had a violent past. According to court documents obtained by the news outlet, the couple divorced in 2019, and the filings listed accusations of abuse against Washington. He allegedly made threats against the children similar to the way they died.
Dounseroux noted in the documents that her now ex-husband allegedly choked her while she was holding their infant and pushed her onto a couch in 2018. He reportedly told her he was going to get a gun. She ultimately escaped and was granted a two-year order of protection against Washington.
Police called the deaths 'senseless.'
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick addressed the media, announcing Washington's arrest and giving details of the horrific crime. She said the killings were "tragic and senseless and horrific death of three young children."
She added that the event saddened and outraged authorities, who were heartbroken to report on the devastating news.
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Douneroux's family flooded social media, begging for justice.
Aunt Leeander Lockhart Dounseroux wrote, "This the psychotic b—- that killed my niece & nephews they own father JOSEPH WASHINGTON SHARE please we want justice."
Some want Washington to receive a harsh punishment.
As cousin Shelli Roux wrote about the father after his capture: "They caught his a– Joseph Washington needs the death penalty ladies young and old if your husband BD hits you threaten you get the hell on cause if he say out of anger what he going do at some point he will snap don't wait around to see move far away please sending prayers and condolences to my NOLA family."
According to jail records, Washington faces three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree cruelty to a child, and one count of aggravated arson. He is in the OJC Justice Center without bond. It was unclear if he had obtained an attorney.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women's shelter (domesticshelters.org).
