The Murrieta parents who were arrested last week for a fire that killed two of their daughters in late 2025 were allegedly high on meth and marijuana when the blaze broke out, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
Stacey Hales, 46, and Adam Keenan, 43, were both arrested on Friday, March 13, months after the deadly fire that broke out on Dec. 20, 2025 at the family's mobile home in the 41000 block of Knight Drive. After extinguishing the blaze, Murrieta Fire & Rescue crews found the two girls and six pets dead inside. They said that Keenan and his eldest daughter were able to escape from inside.
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Sisters Abby and Emma died in the fire. CBS LA
Hales was arrested on nine felony counts, including reckless burning causing death, child endangerment and under the influence of a controlled substance, while Keenan was arrested on two counts of child endangerment and under the influence of a controlled substance, Murrieta police said on Friday.
Court documents obtained from the Riverside County DA provide more details on what led to those charges. Prosecutors say that both parents were under the influence of methamphetamine and cannabis when the fire started at around 4:45 a.m. They further allege that the girls' mother, Hales, had a "repeat history of starting fires while cooking," specifically while using cooking oil.
According to the documents, the repeat incidents had gotten so bad that Hales started cooking outside of the mobile home on a propane grill located underneath a wooden carport. Prosecutors say that Hales was using cooking oil on the grill and failed to turn the propane off before falling asleep.
"The stove was located ... in close proximity to combustible materials and an overhanging pine tree," the complaint said.
The documents further allege that neither of the parents had done enough to prevent such a devastating incident from happening and that they both knew there no working smoke detectors inside of the home. The complaint also alleges that the front door to the family's home was blocked by stacked dog crates and stored items that prevented people from escaping while the fire raged in the back of the structure.