OKC Fire Deaths Ruled Homicides By Medical Examiner

Adrianna Iwasinski, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – Smoke inhalation killed an elderly couple in a southwest Oklahoma City fire early Wednesday morning according to the medical examiner's office. The deaths of Boyd and Doris Haynes were also ruled homicides.

Their 15-year-old neighbor, Tristan Ryan Owen, has been jailed for the crime.

Owen has yet to be formally arraigned or charged, but he is currently sitting in the Oklahoma County jail without bond. And even though he's a kid, he faces the very adult charges of arson and felony homicide for playing with fire.

Early Thursday afternoon, we saw Owen's grandmother and grandfather being led to a waiting car.

We're told the couple is blind and that they were on their way to the courthouse to find out what they need to do now that their 15 year old grandson is in jail, accused of setting the fire that killed Doris and Boyd Haynes who lived just down the street.

Connie Stangel lives right next door to the house where Tristan lived with his grandparents, mother and sister.

"They both have their faculties. They're perfectly OK. They take care of the kids beautifully," Strangel said. "I like them very much. They are wonderful people."

A family friend said Owen may have snuck out in the middle of the night to hang out with friends and was ultimately seen outside at the time the fire started.

Strangel said she does the neighborhood watch in this area and wishes she had noticed something sooner.

"I am always patrolling the neighborhood. I am watching out for my community. I just hope everyone is going to be OK and if I can catch something, oh, yeah, I am going to report it," she said.

"I don't know what happened that night. It woke me up. I know for sure because I do patrolling in the neighborhood and I had to go out and patrol."

Strangel said that even though it was dark, she couldn't believe what she saw, not only the fire, but Owen.

"I saw him which broke my heart," she said.

And Strangel said, despite what Tristan is accused of doing, she stands behind him, and the family.

"I think it was a very random act on his part, that he did something so incredibly stupid. Sorry, Tristan, but it was stupid. He probably did not mean to do what he did," she said.

"I almost wish I would have got out of in my car and patrolled after I heard the first four pops. I might have saved a life or two."

Both Boyd and Doris Haynes were set to go into assisted living the morning of that fatal fire.

Their son said he takes comfort knowing his parents left this earth together.

07/13/2011 Related Story: Elderly Couple Died Of Smoke Inhalation; Ruled A Homicide.

07/15/2011 Related Story: OKC Teen Arraigned For Elderly Couple's Death In Fire.