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May 16, 2008 4:31 pm US/Eastern
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Witnesses For Defense Testify In Fatal Fire Trial
BLAIRSVILLE (KDKA) ―
Witnesses for the defense took the stand in the trial of a Blairsville teenager accused of setting a house fire that killed her adoptive father.
Codee Wheeler, 17, was charged as an adult in the death of William Wheeler. Prosecutors accuse her of dousing the family room with kerosene and starting the fatal fire.
A co-worker and friend of the victim testified that he was a close friend of the Wheeler family and spent many nights at the Wheeler home. He told the court that he never head Codee talk about hurting or killing her father.
Additionally, the witness testified that William Wheeler showed signs of depression and believed he contemplated suicide. The family friend went on to say that Wheeler said he wanted to die, even if it meant pouring kerosene on himself and setting himself on fire.
A certified fire investigator told the court that the cause of the fire should have been listed as undetermined because of a mysterious burn pattern near the television.
On Thursday, the 911 call Codee Wheeler made the day of the fire was released.
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