A months-long arson and homicide investigation on Bloomington’s far east side has ended with a hometown arrest in a fire that killed three people and left an 18-year-old survivor fighting for her life.
Authorities arrested 28-year-old Bloomington resident Braydon Blake on Friday on murder and arson allegations tied to a Jan. 18 house fire in the 3800 block of East Anderson Road, north of the city. The early morning blaze engulfed an attached garage and the home itself. First responders found two people dead at the scene and later learned a third victim had died from her injuries. An 18-year-old woman who escaped the burning home suffered severe burns and remains in specialized medical care.
Arrest Follows Months-Long Probe
According to The Herald-Times, Blake was booked into the Monroe County Jail at about 5:39 p.m. Friday. He faces two preliminary counts of murder and two counts of arson. The outlet reports that Blake himself was injured in the Jan. 18 fire, spent time hospitalized for burn wounds and was taken into custody after that treatment.
What Officials Say About the Scene
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said dispatchers began receiving 911 calls at roughly 2:39 a.m. on Jan. 18. Deputies arrived to find a vehicle that had crashed into an attached garage that was already on fire, according to a sheriff’s office press release cited by the Indiana Daily Student.
Investigators from the sheriff’s investigative division worked the case alongside the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Monroe County Fire Protection District and the county coroner’s office as they tried to determine exactly how the deadly blaze unfolded. Hoodline has previously chronicled the South Bloomington inferno and its aftermath.
Victims and Community Support
Monroe County Coroner Jeff Hall later identified a third victim as 53-year-old Paula Anderson, who died on Feb. 4 at Eskenazi Hospital. Earlier reports had named 74-year-old Mary Blake and 33-year-old Kristine Rowan as the other two people who died in the fire, according to WBIW.
A GoFundMe campaign created for the family and cited in local coverage shows that the youngest survivor, identified as 18-year-old Gabrielle “Gabby” Anderson, suffered burns over about 30% of her body. That fundraiser had collected roughly $32,475 as of Friday, The Bloomingtonian reported.
Allegations and Neighbor Accounts
Neighbors described a frantic, disorienting scene in the middle of the night. One resident told The Bloomingtonian, “Terrible night a nightmare. Police also said bringing the FBI in.”
That same neighbor alleged that Blake had been discharged from the hospital and was out of custody for several days before being located and arrested. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has not publicly confirmed that specific claim.
Legal Status and Next Steps
Jail records and local reporting list two counts of murder and two counts of arson against Blake. Prosecutors have not yet filed additional charges specifically connected to the later death of Paula Anderson, according to The Herald-Times.
Upcoming court dates and further filings were not immediately available. Blake remains in custody at the Monroe County Jail and is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in a court of law.
