Christmas blaze kills woman and boyfriend, home destroyed

Sparks from stove likely behind fire, firefighters say

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

LENOIR – About five months ago, Gary Moody took his girlfriend, 58-year-old Corene Myers, to see her favorite band at Lenoir's Smokey Creek BBQ, where they met six years earlier.

When the musicians took a break, Moody, 52, picked up the microphone and proposed.

The couple hadn't set a wedding date by Christmas but were looking forward to spending the holiday eating dinner with family at the northwest Lenoir home they shared with Myers' son, 39-year-old Alan Holtsclaw.

Shortly after 8 Christmas morning, however, smoke began billowing from the windows of the wooden house and flames engulfed the interior, killing Moody and Myers.

Firefighters believe that sparks from a wood stove ignited the fire. Holtsclaw, who owns the home, said he had recently cut wood to fuel the stove because kerosene was too expensive.

Moody and Myers tried to escape through the kitchen at the back of the small, four-room house. Emergency crews found the couple on the kitchen floor, where Moody was lying on top of Myers, said Sherry White, Myers' 38-year-old daughter.

"He was trying to protect her, save her," she said.

Paramedics gave the couple CPR, but Moody and Myers died before authorities arrived, said Lt. Sam Smith, public information officer for the Lenoir Fire Department.

Holtsclaw, the eldest of Myers' four children, was sleeping in his bedroom adjoining the kitchen when the flames ripped through the home.

Neighbor Stan Nelson said he had just finished opening presents with his wife and sons when they noticed black smoke pouring from the house. His sons, 34-year-old Chad Nelson and 32-year-old Steven Nelson, ran across the yard and pounded on Holtsclaw's bedroom window.

Holtsclaw woke up to the knocking, he said, and ran to the bedroom door to find his mother and Moody. The door handle was too hot to open, Holtsclaw said, and flames shot through the crack between the floor and the door, burning his feet.

"I jumped onto the bed," he said, "and my two little angels kicked in the window."

Chad and Steven Nelson broke the window, Holtsclaw said, grabbed him by the arm and helped him climb through the frame, which was lined with shattered glass. Paramedics gave Holtsclaw oxygen at the scene and treated him for other injuries, he said.

Authorities were still looking for smoke detectors Tuesday. Holtsclaw and White said there were two in the home - one in the living room and another in the kitchen. Both were working, they said. Tuesday afternoon, Holtsclaw, who lives on monthly disability checks, returned to the home where he has lived since 1974 to look for his mother's cocker spaniel and to comfort Daisy, the family cat that escaped the fire but was badly burned by flames.

White said they've heard rumors that neighbors saw the cocker spaniel flee the home, but they haven't been able to find the dog. Meadowbrook Baptist Church provided shelter Monday and cooked breakfast for rescue crews and the victims' families, and Grandview Baptist Church provided counseling, White said.

"I've had people asking what I need, and I don't know," Holtsclaw said. "Whatever they can give would help."

While the Lenoir police and fire departments and the State Bureau of Investigation continue investigating the fire, Holtsclaw will stay with family and friends.

He hopes to return to the neighborhood and possibly buy a trailer to replace his destroyed home.

"I've got good neighbors around here. I just can't leave this place," he said.


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