Autopsies conducted for three Jennings County fire victims

NORTH VERNON — Autopsies were being conducted in North Vernon on the three victims of an early Tuesday morning house fire in Jennings County. Identifications of the victims will be conducted as part of Thursday’s forensic examination, Jennings County Sheriff Kenny Freeman said.

While Freeman is not providing names at this time, he said the victims found in the historic, two-story brick home at 10250 N. County Road 500E, were all adults.

However, at least one of the deceased found after the 5:30 a.m. blaze on Tuesday is believed to be the parent of another victim, the sheriff said. However, Freeman said that has not been completely confirmed at this time.

The house, located about two miles southeast of Westport, was completely engulfed in flames when first-responders arrived at the remote site in northern Columbia Township.

When asked whether there was anything suspicious about the fire, Freeman said he won’t speculate on the cause of the blaze until the results of the autopsies come in.

Columbia is one of Jennings County’s more rural townships with a population of only 868 residents.