Authorities plan to file multiple felony charges against a man and a woman who were arrested in connection with a residential fire that killed two juveniles and several pets in Murrieta late last year, police said.
Officers with the Murrieta Police Department and crews from Murrieta Fire & Rescue responded at about 4:42 a.m. Dec. 20, 2025, to a structure fire in the 41600 block of Knight Drive.
Upon arrival, responders found a mobile home, carport, three vehicles, two outbuildings and a large pine tree fully engulfed in flames, said the Murieta Police Department.
It took nearly 45 minutes to put the fire out. Once safe, responders discovered that two juveniles and multiple household pets had died in the fire.
A joint investigation by detectives and arson investigators determined there was probable cause to believe two residents of the home, Stacey Hales, 46, and Adam Keenan, 43, were criminally responsible for the fire and the resulting deaths, police said.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office plans to file multiple felony charges against both suspects.
Hales, a Murrieta resident, is out of custody on $160,000 bail and awaiting a court appearance, according to police. Keenan was arrested on Friday and booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center.
Authorities said Hales faces charges including reckless burning causing death, reckless burning of an inhabited structure, child endangerment, animal cruelty, and being under the influence of a controlled substance, along with a sentence enhancement. Keenan faces two counts of child endangerment.
Police urge anyone with information to contact Detective Velazquez at 951-461-6340 or submit tips anonymously through the Murrieta Police Department website.
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