ALTOONA, BLAIR COUNTY -- 2-year-old Madison Etchison smiles as she plays with a balloon. Smiling is something that doesn't come easily to the Etchison family right now.
"Do you think she'll remember (the fire)?" WTAJ's Angie Koehle asked. "Yes. They were inseparable. They did everything together," Madison's mother, Brandy, said.
About 3 weeks ago Madison's older brother Darrel "DJ" died in a fire. 3 days ago, the man accused of setting it committed suicide. DJ's father got the call early Friday morning, a detective telling him 62-year-old Aaron Dishong was found hanging in his jail cell.
"I was like okay. Then I thought about it. I felt robbed. I felt robbed he didn't suffer like my boy suffered," Darrel Etchison Sr. said.
The couple, is however, glad they won't have to face him again in court. They did on Wednesday when a district judge sent his charges to county court. Brandy Etchison had to take the stand and talk about the morning she was forced to jump from the burning home.
"Everything I could remember I had to relive it all over again," she said.
Brandy said Dishong wouldn't make eye contact with her. Darrel Sr. said the same.
"He would not look at me. I think the human side of him was kicking in," Darrel Sr. said.
Two days after that hearing though, Dishong was dead. With the legal battle over, the family is moving forward. They are getting a new home and thanking friends, family and the community for all of their support. They're also seeking counseling with the little girl who is now the couple's only child together.
"We just need to try to get our lives back because of Madison. We still have a child who needs us," Brandy Etchison said. "It's really hard to explain to a 2-year-old what happened and why her brothers not here."
"Do you think she'll remember (the fire)?" WTAJ's Angie Koehle asked. "Yes. They were inseparable. They did everything together," Madison's mother, Brandy, said.
About 3 weeks ago Madison's older brother Darrel "DJ" died in a fire. 3 days ago, the man accused of setting it committed suicide. DJ's father got the call early Friday morning, a detective telling him 62-year-old Aaron Dishong was found hanging in his jail cell.
"I was like okay. Then I thought about it. I felt robbed. I felt robbed he didn't suffer like my boy suffered," Darrel Etchison Sr. said.
The couple, is however, glad they won't have to face him again in court. They did on Wednesday when a district judge sent his charges to county court. Brandy Etchison had to take the stand and talk about the morning she was forced to jump from the burning home.
"Everything I could remember I had to relive it all over again," she said.
Brandy said Dishong wouldn't make eye contact with her. Darrel Sr. said the same.
"He would not look at me. I think the human side of him was kicking in," Darrel Sr. said.
Two days after that hearing though, Dishong was dead. With the legal battle over, the family is moving forward. They are getting a new home and thanking friends, family and the community for all of their support. They're also seeking counseling with the little girl who is now the couple's only child together.
"We just need to try to get our lives back because of Madison. We still have a child who needs us," Brandy Etchison said. "It's really hard to explain to a 2-year-old what happened and why her brothers not here."
Comments
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brothers way.... Romans 14:13
JUANITA D.
December 11, 2012 at 10:48 am
