Kentucky man arrested after homicide victim found in burning house

WARREN COUNTY, Ky. (TCD) -- Deputies arrested a 28-year-old Kentucky man in Tennessee after the body of a deceased 45-year-old individual was discovered inside a burning home.

According to the Warren County Sheriff's Office, on Monday, Feb. 20 shortly before 4 a.m., deputies responded to a fire on Penns Chapel Road. The home was reportedly engulfed in flames, and after being extinguished, fire personnel found a deceased man, later identified as Wendell Reynolds Jr.

The Sheriff's Office said the victim's injuries were "inconsistent with an exposure to fire as the cause of death."

Upon further investigation, the Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as Sean Birge. Deputies reportedly travelled to Clarksville, Tennessee to interview Birge, where he eventually confessed to killing Reynolds.

Birge was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail in Tennessee, and he'll be extradited back to Warren County, where he'll be charged with murder, arson, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse, the Sheriff's Office said.

Multiple agencies worked on the case, including Bowling Green Fire Department Investigators, Richardsville Volunteer Fire Department, Bowling Green Police, and the Warren County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Processors.

The Sheriff's Office did not specify the victim's relationship to the suspect.

MORE:

• Media Release Update - Warren County Sheriff's Office