‘I hope everything you love dies’: Mom ‘walked several blocks’ from home as it burned, leaving 4 young kids inside, killing 1, police say
Inset: Kirstin D. Bowers (Shelby County Jail). Background: Bowers’ home after a fire last month that left her 7-year-old son dead (WTHR).
A 31-year-old mother in Indiana has been arrested after authorities say she left her four small children inside of their burning home, walking several blocks from the blaze that ended up killing her 7-year-old son. Kirstin D. Bowers was taken into custody last week and charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death for her alleged role in the death of young David Bowers Jr., authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Rush County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and firefighters at about 2 p.m. on June 5, 2025, responded to a 911 call regarding a “house fire with a small child still inside” at a residence in the 2000 Block North CR 700 W in Arlington.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders encountered the single-family residence “fully engulfed” in flames. Firefighters made several attempts to rescue the boy who was trapped in the home, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. He was later pronounced dead on the scene by the Rush County Coroner’s Office.
Investigators said that “numerous suspicious circumstances” were observed at the home on the day of the fire.
In an initial statement provided to authorities, Bowers allegedly said that she was smoking a cigarette in bed when she fell asleep, “awakening to the bed being on fire.” She then claimed she tried to help the kids.
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“Bowers advised she attempted to get the children out of the residence one by one, however due to smoke and fire she was unable to rescue David Bowers Jr.,” the release states.
Bowers made two separate 911 calls on the date of the fire, authorities said. She allegedly hung up during the first call and about 15 minutes later, she called again and reported her son was in the house during the fire.
As the investigation continued, detectives said they discovered that Bower’s story did not add up.
“A timeline of events, developed by investigators using surveillance footage, witness statements, and digital technology, revealed that Kirstin Bowers had left the residence and walked several blocks from the residence during the suspected time of the fire,” the release states. “This left four small children inside the residence. It is suspected that three children exited the residence on their own and David Bowers Jr. was unable to get out.”
According to a report from Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR, Bowers and her husband had a combative relationship and fought often. Only days before the fire, a neighbor told investigators they heard Bowers yell, “I f—ing hate you and I hope everything you love dies.”
A search of Bowers’ cellphone showed that on the day before the fire, she sent her husband an angry message about their kids.
“Well I’m about to call the CPS lady back out here…and let her know that you left me here with the kids by myself when she said not to so thanks,” the message reportedly said.
She also told police to ignore any statements from neighbors about her allegedly walking away from the house as it burned, claiming she had actually returned from that walk about five minutes before the fire began, per WTHR. Police said the first 911 call — the hangup — actually came about four minutes after she left the house.
At the scene, officers reportedly noted that despite claiming to have helped her kids escape the fire, Bowers was clean of any soot and did not smell at all like smoke.
About a week after the fire, Bowers reportedly performed internet searches for the following: “Manslaughter sentence Indiana,” “Voluntary manslaughter,” “Reckless homicide sentence,” and “Manslaughter of a child sentence Indiana.”
When informed about his son dying in the fire, Bowers’ husband immediately said to authorities, “Arrest her,” referring to his wife, WTHR reported. He filed for divorce from Bowers on July 9, 2025.
“This is a tragic event for our community, and especially for the town of Arlington, which has faced several heartbreaking incidents in recent years,” Detective Randy M. Meek of the Rush County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Our agency would be remiss not to recognize the heroic efforts of the fire personnel from multiple departments-many of whom are volunteers. These men and women willingly put their own safety at risk in an effort to rescue David Bowers Jr. Their bravery and selflessness on that day deserve our deepest gratitude and highest commendation.”
Bowers is currently being held in the Shelby County Jail without bond on unrelated charges. She is scheduled to appear in Rush County Circuit Court for her initial hearing on the neglect charges on Wednesday, July 30, records show.
HORROR FIND
Moment cops find bodies of evil teen’s family after wannabe school shooter slaughtered mum, brother and sister
Watch the shocking scene in our video player
Ethan Singh , News Reporter
Published: 15:12, 6 Oct 2025
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Updated: 15:16, 6 Oct 2025
Moment cops find bodies of evil teen’s family after wannabe school shooter slaughtered mum, brother and sisterPauseUnmuteFullscreenClose
HORRIFIC footage shows the moment cops discovered three dead bodies after an evil teenager slaughtered his mum, brother and sister.
Nicholas Prosper, then 18, gunned down Juliana Prosper, 48, Kyle Prosper, 16, and Giselle Prosper, 13, at home in Luton in September 2024.
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Prosper shot his mother in the early hours of September 13, placing a book named How To Kill Your Family on her legs, before shooting his sister.
The twisted teen then killed his brother, shooting him twice and stabbing him more than 100 times.
Prosper, was jailed for life with a minimum of 49 years after he pleaded guilty to murdering his mum and two siblings last year.
Now, shocking footage has captured the moment Bedfordshire Police barged into a flat in Luton after gunshots were heard.
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The previously unseen clip will feature in the Channel 4 series 24 Hours in Police Custody.
Armed cops were shown preparing to enter the flat to search for a shooter after a 999 call reported that gunshots had been heard.
One officer says: “Cover your ears, stand back, it’s going to be loud.”
The armed cops then fired stun grenades into the flat in case the shooter was still inside before entering.
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The team found the bodies of Julianna, Giselle and Kyle Prosper inside the property along with spent shotgun cartridges.
One cop is heard shouting there are three victims inside.
Outside the door, one officer puts up three fingers and says: “Three. He said third victim.”
Play Video
A fellow officer looks shocked and replies: “Three? Oh my God.”
But there was no sign of the fourth family member and gunman Nicholas and no weapon, leading to a critical incident being declared with him at large.
After slaughtering his family, the warped teen was stopped by police near his home for plotting a “cold, deliberate and without sympathy” massacre at his old primary school.
Officers discovered a loaded shotgun in bushes nearby alongside more than 30 cartridges – one for each child Prosper planned to kill.
He had chillingly written “kill all” on a diagram that showed the early years classroom at St Joseph’s.
The monster aimed to emulate his hero – Sandy Hook monster Adam Lanza – by going from room to room, peppering children as young as four with bullets.
The triple killer faced becoming the youngest person to receive a whole life tariff but the judge decided against the order due to his age at the time.
Sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him: “You intended to unleash disaster on the community of Luton. Your plans were intelligent, calculating and selfish.
“Your ambition was notoriety. You wanted to be known posthumously as the world’s most famous school shooter of the 21st century.
“The lives of your own mother and younger brother and sister were to be collateral damage on the way to fulfil your ambition.”
The cowardly killer had refused to enter the courtroom but was forced to attend his sentencing by the judge.
Prosecutor Timothy Cray KC said: “He understood his plans, if realised, would bring about the greatest number of deaths in a school or other mass shooting in the United Kingdom and possibly even in the United States of America.”
Prosper had written a chilling note that told how this would be “one of the biggest events ever”.
The court was told he was “not just play acting or fantasising” and that “what drove him on most was the desire to be famous or infamous as a mass killer”.
He managed to get his hands on the deadly weapon by creating a fake firearms licence.
Prosecutors believe he plotted to slaughter kids as young as four then take his own life.
But the murder of his family was “killing for the sake of killing”, Luton Crown Court heard.
Prosper’s chilling internet searches
THE court was told Prosper was “continuously” on his phone between midnight and 4am on the morning of the triple murder.
He searched for “shotgun injuries to the neck” as well as other sadistic terms.
These included:
- What will happen on 13th September?
- Do you die if shot in the neck?
- Does sex with a corpse feel good
- Man shoots woman in the head at close range
- Woman raped and killed
- How lethal are neck gunshots
Prosper also searched for the murder of Sarah Everard.
A court previously heard how Prosper had deceived a private gun seller online using a forged shotgun licence to acquire the weapon.
He hatched his barbaric plan by researching how to fake a firearms certificate around a year before the horror.
This plot was put into practice on September 12 – the day before the fatal shooting – when he picked up the shotgun in a car park.
The seller had been “deceived” by his “high quality forgery” of a shotgun licence”, the court heard.
Prosper had messaged him on a gun website after seeing the weapon on sale for £450 and offered to pay him £600 if cartridges were included.
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Footage showed the teen approaching the seller and shaking hands before taking hold of the weapon.
It is believed he was forced to move his plans forward when his mum got suspicious.
