Did Maria Joseph Snap?

By: Consumer/Investigative Reporter Tak Landrockt.landrock@krdo.com

COLORADO SPRINGS – The grandmother of three of the kids burned in Tuesday’s fire tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 that Maria Joseph isn’t the monster many think she is.

“She’s been under a lot of stress,” says Linda Joseph from her Killeen, Texas home. “She just snapped!”

According to a source close to the investigation, Maria Joseph doused her five kids with some kind of accelerant. The police source adds that her intent was to kill all five, but only 16-month old Ashya died of her injuries. The rest are at Denver Children’s Hospital, where they are in critical condition. According to the grandmother, two of the kids will be flown back to Shriners Hospital forChildren in Galveston, Texas where they will get better care.

“It’s not close to us, it’s about 6 hours away,” Linda Joseph says.

According to Colorado Springs Police, Simeon Joseph committed suicide in the same home off Galena court back in October. The grandmother says Maria has been trying to take care of all five children, three of whom were Simeon’s.

“She has no family support there,” says Linda Joseph.

Simeon Joseph’s family invited Maria to come and live with them in Texas, but she refused.

“We can’t believe she did this,” says Linda Joseph. “She was a stay at home mom and she was a great mom cooking meals every night.”

A fund has been set up to help the children. If you would like help you can contact Union State Bank in Killen, TX. The account is under the Joseph’s Children Fund. The number is (254) 634-8181.