Inset: Brian Jeffrey Shelleby (Allegheny County Jail). Background: Castle Shannon home that Shelleby allegedly set on fire, killing his teen daughter (WTAE).
A Pennsylvania man allegedly poured a five-gallon can of gasoline throughout a home and set it on fire, killing his 19-year-old daughter and injuring his wife.
Brian Jeffrey Shelleby, 46, stands accused of criminal homicide, arson and causing or risking catastrophe, according to court records. First responders received a slew of 911 calls shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunday for a fire in the 800 block of Corbett Drive in Castle Shannon, which is in the Pittsburgh area.
When they arrived, flames were bursting out of the home. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, two people were trapped in the house: Shelleby”s wife and their 19-year-old daughter, Lakyn Shelleby. The wife was able to escape but firefighters could not find the daughter before she could be rescued. The teen was ultimately found unresponsive inside the home and pronounced dead.
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Detectives spoke with the wife, who said she told her husband that he could not stay in the home because they were separated. He allegedly responded by saying he was going to “burn the house down.” He then proceeded to grab a five-gallon can of gas and pour it throughout both floors of the home.
The wife screamed for her daughter to run out of the home. She said as she ran out, “the house exploded into flames,” the affidavit said.
Brian Shelleby remained on scene and cops took him into custody. After being read his Miranda rights, he allegedly admitted to setting the fire. He said he was talking to his wife, trying to “convince her to let him stay,” cops wrote. But she did not want him in the house and told him he had to leave, according to the affidavit. That’s when he allegedly grabbed the gas can from the garage and poured it all over the house.
The fire was extremely fast-moving, neighbors told local NBC affiliate WPXI.
“It took about 13 seconds for the whole house to go up in flames,” neighbor Patrick Funwela told the TV station. “I ran outside and saw the windows were all blown out. A gas tank was sitting in the middle of the street.”
Funwela and other neighbors tried to rescue the teen.
“We broke the window, climbed up the ladder, screaming for Lakyn — no words, nothing,” he said. “The smoke was unbelievable. It was the thickest black smoke I have ever seen.”
Lakyn Shelleby was a second-year student at the University of Pittsburgh and a 2024 graduate of Keystone Oaks High School, WPXI reported. Her friends gathered Monday night to remember her at a vigil.
“She was so smart, and she could kick down the doors with her charisma,” Alexandria Kelley, a childhood friend, told WPXI.
