One of the three people killed in a house fire in northeastern Cherokee County has been identified, the sheriff's office said Monday. But it could take weeks to positively identify the other two victims.
Using dental records, the GBI determined that 46-year-old Darlene Norrell died in the fire last Wednesday, Lt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said. Investigators will have to rely on DNA to identify the other two people, believed to be Norrell's husband and daughter, Baker said.
The remains of three people were found in the rubble after a split-level home burned to the ground early Wednesday morning in Ball Ground. Firefighters and sheriff's deputies were called to Spriggs Trail home shortly before 4 a.m., but by then, the home was fully engulfed and had collapsed, officials said.
Investigators believe the three found dead in the home are the Norrell family, including Ricky, 49, Darlene, 46, and the couple's 19-year-old daughter, Lindsey.
But identification has been slowed because of the conditions of the bodies following the fire, Baker said. A cause of death for Darlene Horrell remains under investigation.
Neighbors on the rural street reported hearing an explosion at the home before seeing flames. The cause of the fire had not officially been determined Monday afternoon.
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