According to a report from WJHL, a Norton, Virginia, explosion and house fire that claimed the life of 13-year-old boy on Sunday morning has now resulted in the death of the boy’s mother.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:45 a.m. in the 500 block of Virginia Avenue North, according to Virginia State Police (VSP) officials.
Initial reports stated that 13-year-old Joshua Azbill had succumbed to his injuries, with two women injured. On Tuesday, a VSP news release said that one of the two women, the boy’s mother, 43-year-old Michelle L. Barnett, died on Monday at Wake Forest Medical Center in North Carolina.
The boy’s body was recovered from the home after fire crews extinguished the flames and transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Roanoke for examination, autopsy, and positive identification.
The second female, age 22, was also transported to the Wake Forest Medical Center, and continues to undergo treatment.
Norton police and fire officials said that the three victims were part of a family.
The VSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Wytheville Field Office is now investigating the incident, although officials noted that the fire looks “accidental in nature.”
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