Background: News footage of the burned home of Dustin Fields (WTVQ). Inset: Dustin Fields makes his court appearance via video (Franklin County Detention Center).
A Kentucky man pleaded not guilty to an arson charge after he was accused of burning his own house down while his teenage sons were inside.
According to local CBS affiliate WKYT, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office announced during a press conference that Dustin Fields, 43, was arrested on Thursday, the day after a fire destroyed his home in Frankfort, Kentucky, and killed his two sons, ages 13 and 15. Authorities stated that their investigation led them to charge Fields with arson in the first degree. As more information was released, including an arrest citation obtained by local ABC affiliate WTVQ, investigators said that accelerants were detected by a K-9 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms on Fields’ shoes and inside the house.
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Fields allegedly “used accelerants to set fire to his residence knowing that the home was occupied by his two juvenile sons,” according to an arrest citation obtained by local NBC affiliate WLEX. The accelerants were also allegedly detected where the boys’ bodies were found.
The two boys underwent autopsies, as well as a family dog, which was also found dead after the fire. The sheriff’s office stated during the press conference that the ongoing investigation could yield additional charges.
In a GoFundMe campaign started by a friend of Fields’ wife, who was the stepmother of the two boys and who shares a 3-year-old son with Fields, an apparent history of domestic violence between the couple began in late 2024. The friend stated that Fields’ wife reportedly filed for an emergency protection order with the sheriff’s office against her husband for herself, their youngest son, and the two teenagers in March. Due to weather and other issues, their court dates kept getting delayed. The couple had a court date scheduled for May 7.
On April 30, Fields’ home was burned to the ground with his two boys inside.
During his virtual court appearance on Monday, Fields pleaded not guilty to arson in the first degree and bail was set at $2 million. The suspect asked the judge, “Is there any chance of me furloughing out for the kids’ funeral?” He added, “I miss my boys.”
The prosecution objected, but the judge said Fields could ask his lawyer to file a motion with the Commonwealth. Fields is due in court again on May 13.
