Georgia father gets multiple life sentences for rape, murder of 10-year-old daughter who died in locked bathroom in house fire

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (TCN) -- A 51-year-old man has been sentenced to several life terms in prison after being convicted of felony murder, rape, child molestation, and incest in connection with the 2022 death of his 10-year-old daughter.

According to prosecutors’ opening statements in the trial of William McCue, his 15-year-old son, whose name has not been released, set the house on fire on April 17, 2022, and walked 6 miles before asking for help at a church, Court TV reports. He later told investigators he lit the fire because he wanted to escape from his parents. He alleged they beat him and his younger siblings, forced them to wear shock collars, and made them stand on milk crates for hours. 

McCue was at work at Waffle House when the fire was set, but 42-year-old Carina McCue fled the house with two sons, ages 8 and 12. Responders found the body of Zowey McCue, age 10, inside a locked bathroom. The bathtub had plywood fitted on it as a makeshift bed. She died of smoke inhalation, according to Court TV. 

Investigators also found there was no plumbing inside the home, according to Court TV. The children had to use buckets and empty them once or twice a week. CBS reports the children were not enrolled in school, but their parents did not homeschool them.

Following the house fire, the surviving children were examined at a hospital and all had evidence of abuse, WHNS reports. One child had a human bite mark on his inner thigh and another had lacerations on his back from a belt.

According to press release from the district attorney obtained by CBS, “Evidence showed that the children flourished once they were away from their parents, although they were developmentally and educationally years behind their respective ages.”

Court TV reports that the 15-year-old boy who set the fire was initially charged with murder, but interviewers felt that something was off when he couldn’t spell his own name and did not know how to use a toilet.

After Zowey McCue’s death, a warrant was issued for William McCue’s arrest, WBS-TV reports. He and his wife disappeared and several months passed before they were arrested. They were located living along the Appalachian Trail on June 29, 2022, arrested, and taken into custody, WCTV reports. 

Carina McCue testified against her husband at trial, per Court TV. She testified William McCue said he had raped his oldest daughter and that he had sexually assaulted the older daughter and younger daughter since they were small children. She was sentenced to 90 years in prison as part of her deal with the prosecution, pleading guilty to three counts of cruelty against children, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment.

The jury found William McCue guilty of all charges on June 11. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, an additional life sentence, and 120 more years.

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