FLORA, Ind. (WISH) – A nearly eight-year investigation into a tragic house fire that killed four young girls in a close-knit community has not led to any arrests, but I-Team 8 has uncovered new details, revealing an admission by investigators.

The Flora fire engulfed a two-story duplex in November 2016. The blaze killed Keyana Davis, 11; Keyara Phillips, 9; Kerriele McDonald, 7; and Kionnie Welch, 5.

Despite extensive efforts by Indiana State Police detectives, no arrests have been made in the case, which continues to baffle investigators.

In an interview with I-Team 8 at the WISH-TV studios, state police Superintendent Doug Carter discussed the investigation. Initially hesitant to interview, Carter agreed when approached again. He was reluctant to delve into specifics, acknowledging the case’s complexity, but remained optimistic about its eventual resolution.

The investigation is ongoing, Carter said, declining to answer more specifically, though he said investigators had developed new leads.

“We’re responding and reacting to every bit of information that we receive,” Carter said when pressed for updates on the investigation’s progress.

Gaylin Rose, the mother of the girls, spoke to I-Team 8 from her Missouri home and expressed frustration with the investigation’s progress. She criticized what she described as a series of personnel changes early into the probe, suggesting it hindered progress. 

Rose also raised concerns that the subsequent attention on a separate case, the Delphi murders, may have diverted resources from her daughters’ case.

Carter was asked if investigators botched the earliest states of the investigation.

“I think ‘botched’ is a subjective term. We didn’t get involved in it for a period of time as a state police agency. I think ‘botched’ is probably not an accurate word. Were there mistakes made? Yes,” Carter said in response.

“The fact is we didn’t. I think it’s solvable,” he said.

Carter also vehemently denied any racial bias in the investigation’s handling. “I’ve been referred to as a racist,” he said. The implication is that “I don’t care about those four little Black girls and that’s offensive to me. Any notion that we would look the other way because little girls were Black is just so wrong.”

I-Team 8 also uncovered financial documents, including an insurance policy taken out on the duplex less than two months before the fire, good for more than 8.5 times the value of the home, and a subsequent property appraisal. Carter was hesitant to address the immediate findings, saying he was aware of the aesthetics of the facts.

However, he declined to respond directly to questions about the documents, motives or the identity of a potential suspect.

“I’m not going there,” Carter said when asked if the home’s owner was a suspect.

Rose, he said, was not a suspect.

The investigation also saw a development regarding a potential interview between Rose and authorities. Rose did not speak with investigators but believed she was the target of the probe.

Speaking with I-Team 8, Carter indicated that investigators are open to speaking with Rose.

“My test here is ‘Did we do what we knew was wrong?’ The answer’s ‘no.’ No, we did the very best we could with what we had at the time, and I’m going to stand by that to my last day,” Carter said.