Trial By Fire: The Tragic Tale of Cameron Todd Willingham
In 2004, Cameron Todd Willingham, a 36-year-old father was executed by the state of Texas for setting a fire that killed his 3 children. More than 20 years later, many experts believe he was innocent
Background
On December 23rd, 1991, a house fire in Corsicana, Texas, claimed the lives of three young children. Their father, Cameron Todd Willingham, survived the blaze, but within a matter of days, he would become the primary suspect in the death of his own children.
Thirteen years later, Cameron Willingham would be executed for the crime. Years after his death, all evidence points to a single conclusion: the state of Texas executed an innocent man. This is the story of Cameron Todd Willingham, whose entire life went up in flames.
Early Life and Family
Cameron Todd Willingham was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, on January 9th, 1968. He spent most of his life in the small Texas town of Corsicana, less than an hour southeast of Dallas.
Cameron was raised in a working-class family, and he was sometimes described as being a bit “rough around the edges.” Cameron was said to have had a propensity for partying and had engaged in petty crimes in his youth, but he had never committed any acts of violence.
As a young man, Cameron met a woman named Stacy Kuykendall, and the two began a relationship. They soon welcomed their first child, a daughter they named Amber, when Cameron was twenty-one. A year later, the couple had twin girls named Karmon and Kameron.
In the fall of 1991, Cameron and Stacy married, and they and their three daughters resided in a house off West 11th Street in Corsicana.
Fatal Fire
On the morning of December 23rd, 1991, just three months after Stacy and Cameron were married, tragedy struck as Stacy was out shopping for last-minute Christmas gifts.
Cameron was home with their three daughters when a fire broke out. While he managed to escape with only minor burns, the young girls became trapped inside. Neighbors and first responders acted quickly, but all three children succumbed to smoke inhalation before they could be rescued.
Cameron seemed beside himself with grief. He told investigators that he was sleeping when the fire started, and that when he awoke, the house was already engulfed in flames. He said he had tried to get to his daughters and rescue them, but he was unable to reach them.
At first, authorities were operating under the assumption that this was a devastating, but entirely accidental, tragedy. Then, they began noting minor but curious inconsistencies in Cameron’s story, and the tragedy took a much more sinister turn.
Under Suspicion
In the days following the house fire that claimed the lives of the Willingham children, arson investigators searched the remains of the home. They examined the burn patterns and noted puddle-like stains on the floor, leading them to believe an accelerant had been used.
They concluded that this fire was not accidental—it had been intentionally set. Shortly after their examination of the scene, the official ruling of arson came.