MURRIETA, Calif. (WKRC) — A California couple has been arrested on suspicion of being criminally responsible for a deadly fire in December that killed two of their daughters. The mother had also reportedly been warned about her dangerous cooking habits before the fire.
Police and fire crews were called to the home of Stacey Hales, 46, and Adam Keenan, 43, in Murrieta on Dec. 20, 2025. When they arrived, they found a mobile home, carport, three vehicles, two outbuildings and a large pine tree burning, reports FOX 8.
Hales and Keenan were able to escape the home with one of their daughters, 12-year-old Ashley. After putting out the fire, crews found the bodies of 12-year-old Emma — Ashley’s twin — and 11-year-old Abby, along with several pets, inside the home.
An investigation discovered Hales had been cooking tortilla chips with hot oil on an outdoor stove, under a wooden carport, before the fire. Investigators believe she left the stove’s propane tank on overnight.
According to a statement from an officer, Keenan allegedly had told Hales months prior to the fire that “she could kill somebody one day” after she started another fire with the same stove inside their home.
Authorities also noted the home had no working fire alarms and the main doorways were partially blocked by dog crates and other items. Both parents also admitted to regularly using meth, which was found in their systems, along with cannabis, after the fire, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times.
Police concluded that Hales’ cooking habits, along with no working smoke alarms and the obstructed doorways, may have “directly contributed to the children being placed in a situation where escape was delayed or impossible.”
Hales and Keenan were arrested on March 2. Hales is charged with arson, arson causing great bodily injury, willful child cruelty, cruelty to animals and being under the influence of a controlled substance. Keenan is facing charges of child cruelty and being under the influence, as well.
Dining and Cooking