Two months after a predawn RV fire killed two young children near Cleveland, both parents have been charged with murder. Matthew Allen Chambers, 39, of Cleveland, and Meaghan Michell Herrod, 30, of Shepherd, each face two counts of murder in connection with the children's deaths, with bond set at $500,000 per charge for a total of $1 million apiece.
According to Bluebonnet News, the charges stem from the deaths of two children under age 5 in an RV fire that broke out Tuesday morning, Aug. 11. The outlet reported that additional details about the circumstances leading to the murder charges had not been provided as of its report.
What Happened the Morning of the Fire
The children, identified by montgomerycountypolicereporter.com as 3-year-old Mavryck Len Chambers and his 2-year-old sister, Skylar Jayne Chambers, died the morning of Aug. 11 inside an RV on County Road 3819 in the Cleveland area. The fire was reported around 5:25 a.m., the outlet reported, and firefighters who entered the structure found the two toddlers deceased inside.
The RV was completely destroyed in the blaze. A third child who had been reported trapped inside was later found safe at a grandmother's home, per the same account. The children's bodies were transported to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies, according to that report.
Conflicting Details on the Victims and Location
Accounts of the fire have varied in some details. ABC13 Houston reported that the children's grandfather identified the victims as a 3-year-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, consistent with the toddlers' ages reported elsewhere, while FOX 26 Houston described the two as adolescent siblings without specifying ages, attributing that characterization to Cleveland Fire Chief Sean Anderson.
The exact road where the fire occurred has also been described differently across reports. ABC13 placed the fire on a heavily wooded property along County Road 3819, not far from Highway 59 near Cleveland, while Fox 26 reported that units responded to two calls about an RV fire along County Road 381 in Liberty County.
Parents Were Reportedly Nearby When Fire Broke Out
ABC13 reported, citing Cleveland Fire Chief Sean Anderson, that the parents were in the area of the fire at the time it started. Anderson said family members were on the property when the fire began but could not reach the children, according to that account.
The fire's cause remained under investigation by the Liberty County Fire Marshal's Office, with the Montgomery County Fire Marshal also involved, per montgomerycountypolicereporter.com's earlier reporting. No further details about what led investigators to bring murder charges against both parents two months later had been released as of Bluebonnet News's report.
