Community rallies for girl rescued from burning NC home where police say dad killed son
Hundreds of people have donated money to help a North Carolina girl and her mom, after police say the girl’s father killed himself and her 11-year-old twin brother before setting their home on fire.
In what Gaston County Police called a murder-suicide, 48-year-old Russell Blakney fatally shot himself early Saturday after killing his 11-year-old son and setting their home ablaze in the 200 block of Brentwood Lane, near Stanley.
Police officers and sheriff’s deputies rescued the boy’s twin sister from the home near Stanley in Gaston County, according to a Gaston County Police Department news release.
On Tuesday, the girl remained in the intensive care burn unit at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, family friend Ashley Hunter said in an update on a GoFundMe she started for Racheal Blakney and her daughter, Piper.
Piper is being treated for smoke inhalation, Hunter said.
“Piper is sleeping now,” Hunter posted on GoFundMe from the hospital. “There was her best improvement today ... Her oxygen is staying mostly at 96 ... Things are looking up!”
By 10 a.m. Tuesday, at least 303 donors had given a total of $37,328 on the site toward a $40,000 goal.
”Racheal and Piper are left with nothing and dealing with trauma and grief,” Hunter said.
Piper tried to get her brother, Cyrus, from the home, but he had already died, Hunter said.
Cyrus “had recently given his life to Jesus at his church, The Heights Belmont,” Hunter said on the GoFundMe post.
He swam for the Gaston Gators swim team and enjoyed his new home school life and playing the piano, Hunter said.
Racheal Blakney has always been her family’s sole provider. She will need to take time off from work to care for Piper “and begin the grieving process of losing her son,” Hunter said.
Donations will help support Blakney and her daughter to rebuild their lives, she added.
Police urged anyone with information about the incident to call them at 704-866-3320 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 704-861-8000.
NEED HELP? If you or someone you love is struggling with a mental health crisis, there are resources available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
NECESITA AYUDA? Red Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio: 988; 988lifeline.org.
