Grieving family identifies the victims of fatal Waukesha house fire as a father and his two eldest children

WAUKESHA - Even as firefighters and investigators were sifting through the rubble of a fire to figure out what caused the death of three town of Waukesha residents, Jillian Newell hopped in her car and began a 12-hour trek from North Carolina to Wisconsin.

The cousin of Casey Duffy, the mother of the two children and wife of the man killed in the Feb. 19 blaze, only knew she had to be there for her cousin and what's left of her family.

She was determined to help out any way she can, including setting up a GoFundMe page and a Summit Credit Union account to seek donations to pay for funeral, hospital and other expenses for the Duffy family.

Pure shock

It was Casey — who was staying with her parents due a flare-up of her battle with Crohn's disease and as a result was not home at the time of the fire — who spread the word to family members about what had happened at their home just east of Les Paul Parkway and north of Arcadian Avenue.

Newell read the text messages in horror. Casey's husband, Kevin Duffy Sr., 38, and their two oldest children, Kevin Duffy Jr., 14, and Kylie Duffy, 12, had burned to death in the 3 a.m. fire.

Only their 9-year-old son, Konnor, had escaped, along with an 80-year-old woman, who was not identified but who Newell believes was a neighbor.

"Basically, I just kind of broke down and walked out of work," Newell said Feb. 21, recounting the shock of the news and what she felt she had to do next. "I went to my parents' house, and we decided we were going to pack up and head on back to Wisconsin from North Carolina shortly after we found out Kevin Sr. didn't make it out."

The shock hadn't worn off by the time the long wintry drive was over, but she said she was able to begin piecing together what likely had happened, from the people who lived through the horrific scene — young Konnor himself and the neighbors.

"Basically, (Kevin Sr.) got Konnor out and took him to his neighbor's house and told them that his house was on fire," Newell said, her voice shaking. "Then they needed to watch Konnor and call the police department and the fire department, and that he had to go back in to get Kylie and Kevin. He never came back."

Newell said her understanding is that the roof of the house collapsed onto Kevin Sr. as he was trying to save his other children.

The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, which is heading the investigation along with the Waukesha Fire Department and the state fire marshal, has not released any additional information from the Feb. 19 fire at the home, S15 W22398 Arcadian Ave. Newell said she has likewise not heard any quantitative information about the cause.

Helping hand

While investigators continue their efforts, Newell saw her role emerge to help her cousin as well as Konner.

"There's so much going on right now, and everyone that's so close to it is obviously still very emotional and going through a lot right now," she said. "So we kind of want to take that burden off of them, and so that (Casey) can focus on Konner and their recovery."

For Casey, that means providing reassurance to Konner, despite her own emotional upheaval, Newell noted.

"She's staying strong for Konner," Newell said. "She just knows she has to be there for him, not matter what's going on with her and everything she is dealing with. ... She doesn't want him to see her break down."

That is why Newell is doing what she can to deal with practical concerns before she leaves for North Carolina again Feb. 24.

In the GoFundMe fundraiser, Newell said those needs include funeral expenses as well as Konnor's hospitalization following the fire, as well as covering family needs under difficult circumstances in the years ahead.

"Casey Duffy has severe Crohn's disease," she noted. "With countless surgeries and treatments, she is unable to work due to her illness and is now a single parent. These costs alone are hard enough to bear without everything else that has happened (Feb. 19)."

The GoFundMe account, accessible online at https://www.gofundme.com/duffy-family-fire, had already raised more than a third of its $30,000 goal in its first day.

Newell said she also wanted to set up a separate, more traditional avenue of donations for those who prefer not to do so online, so an account called the Casey and Konner Duffy Fundraiser, has been established at Summit Credit Union.