The bodies of two people killed in a Middle Georgia house fire were confirmed Tuesday as the mother and brother of a 16-year-old girl accused of setting the home on fire.
The GBI Crime Lab identified them as Tasha Vandiver, 46, and Gerald Walton, 21, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anna Lewis said in a news release.
Candace Walton faces two counts of murder, a count of arson and multiple counts of theft by taking after the blaze ripped through the home on Old Zebulon Road on Thursday and killed her mother and brother.
First responders arrived at the structure about 3:30 a.m. and found about half of the building engulfed in flames. The two bodies were found inside.
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Candace Walton was found by deputies in western Kentucky near Paducah, more than 450 miles from Monroe County. Authorities pulled her over in her mother’s stolen car late Thursday, leading to her arrest.
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She was stopped because the vehicle had been marked as stolen or in danger, Lewis said. Because of the “suspicious nature of the incident,” Candace Walton was taken into custody, allowing Monroe County deputies to visit and interview her in jail.
The teen, who remains in custody in McCracken County, refused extradition to Georgia during a court hearing Monday, AJC.com previously reported.
RELATED: Georgia teen accused in fatal house fire fights extradition from Kentucky
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is working to obtain a governor's warrant to bring Walton back to Georgia, Lewis said. A governor's warrant is only issued for the purpose of returning people to a state in which they are facing charges.
Once the governor’s warrant is sent to a Kentucky juvenile court, that state will have 30 days to hold a hearing and rule on whether to honor it. If it is honored, Walton must be returned to Georgia within five business days.
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