Inset: Brian Jeffrey Shelleby (Allegheny County Jail). Background: Castle Shannon home that Shelleby admitted to setting on fire, killing his teen daughter (WTAE).
A Pennsylvania father who admitted to burning down the home he and his estranged wife used to share and causing the death of his daughter was sentenced to prison.
Brian Shelleby, 47, was sentenced on Thursday to 15 to 30 years behind bars after pleading guilty to third-degree murder and aggravated arson last month. On the morning of Sept. 14, 2025, Brian Shelleby doused the home in Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania, that he once shared with his estranged wife, Carly Shelleby, and their 19-year-old daughter, Lakyn Shelleby, with gasoline before setting it on fire with the two women still inside.
According to an affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, Carly Shelleby and Brian Shelleby were separating and fought over him staying in the house.
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Carly Shelleby told police that she and her soon-to-be former husband argued on the morning of the fire when she told him he could no longer stay in the house. He responded by saying he was going to “burn the house down,” then grabbed a 5-gallon can of gas and poured it throughout both floors of the home.
According to the affidavit, the house “exploded into flames,” and Carly Shelleby screamed to her daughter to run outside. Carly Shelleby was able to escape the fire but suffered severe burns. Lakyn Shelleby was trapped inside and was found unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Brian Shelleby remained at the scene and told police he set the fire. He said he was talking to his wife, trying to “convince her to let him stay.” When she told him he had to leave, he went looking for the gas can.
Local ABC affiliate WTAE was at the sentencing hearing on Thursday, where Carly Shelleby reportedly asked the judge, “How was it so easy for him to burn us alive?”
Brian Shelleby did not speak during the hearing. WTAE reported that his attorney, Phil DiLucente, read a statement on his behalf that said, “To my family, my wife and my daughter, I am sorry. This should have never happened. My days are filled with flashbacks and my nights with nightmares. A part of me died along with her. I wish I could take that day back. I am just completely sorry.”
David Harris contributed to this report.
The post Dad who killed 19-year-old daughter by burning down family home after estranged wife refused to ‘let him stay’ while they were separated learns fate first appeared on Law & Crime.
