GASTONIA, N.C. — A Gastonia woman is on the run after police say she killed her mother and stepfather in the moments before a fire ravaged their home.
Fire crews initially responded to the flames on Seigle Avenue in February, and said the house was fully engulfed, with the victims, Ernest Adams and Angela Wilson, apparently trapped inside.
Police said Christa Smith, Wilson's daughter, lived with the couple but had managed to escape the fire and survive.
But after weeks of investigation, Gastonia police charged Smith with two counts of murder, saying she killed her mother and stepfather.
"I knew all along something wasn't right," said neighbor Melissa Hilliard.
Hilliard said Smith ran to her home for help on the morning of the fire, and said she was showing suspicious behavior.
"Just the way she was acting, because if that had been my mother, I would have been in the front yard, freaking out," Hilliard said.
Police have not said how Smith killed her parents or confirmed if she was also responsible for setting the fire.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts should call Gastonia Police at 704-866-3300.
WSOC
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