CYPRESS, Texas – Nearly six months after a house fire in Cypress sparked questions and fear, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez is set to announce an increased reward of up to $25,000 after a mother, her son, and his girlfriend were all found dead with trauma to their bodies.
Neighbors called 911 in August after waking up that Sunday morning to find the home on Plains River Drive on fire. Inside, investigators found Kelly Masciarelli, her son Kolin Foster, and his girlfriend Cameryn Richard dead.
So far, the clues have been slim, but Harris County investigators, alongside the FBI, are expected to release new surveillance video they say shows the suspect leaving in a black car driven by someone else
The new surveillance video is expected to be released Tuesday morning during a press conference with the sheriff and the FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge. Richard’s mother is expected to be there as well.
It’ll be the first time such a video has been seen and the first time the FBI has spoken publicly about the case. A reward for information is also expected to be increased to up to $25,000, the sheriff’s office announced Thursday.
What happened
The fire at the two-story home at the end of a cul-de-sac was reported on Aug. 18, 2024.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office homicide investigators found two of the individuals upstairs and a third on the ground level.
All of them appeared to have trauma to their bodies and investigators believe they died before the fire was set.
An accelerant may have helped spread the fire, according to HCSO. Whoever killed them may have left through the back.
When KPRC 2 visited the neighborhood, neighbors didn’t report seeing or hearing anything suspicious except for a possible car door slam.
Detectives could be seen taking bags of evidence out of the home and they hauled away Foster’s car, which they said at the time they don’t believe he was the last one to drive it.