Two Loganville parents were arrested on Wednesday for cruelty against children charges after about two months on the run.
A press release from the Gwinnett County Police Department said William Linn McCue, 47, and Carina Wisniewski, 38, were the parents of Zoe McCue, 10, who was killed in a house fire in Loganville on April 17, 2022. The two ran from authorities shortly after the fire.
The suspects were arrested in Cleveland, Georgia, and charged with first and second-degree cruelty to children as well as false imprisonment. They were being held in the Gwinnett County Jail without bond as of Thursday morning.
The April 17 house fire, later ruled an arson, initially led to the arrest of the parents' 15-year-old son. He was charged with malice and felony murder for the death of his 10-year-old sibling. However, the arson investigation led to evidence that suggested the five children living at the home did not have proper living conditions.
Gwinnett County Police Department public information officer Hideshi Valle said investigators discovered "unsanitary and dangerous living conditions" inside the home on Beaver Road in Lawrenceville, mentioning a bathtub being used as a makeshift bed that was found inside the windowless bathroom where Zoe's body was recovered.
Non-useable toilets and "improvised camping-style toilet seat buckets" were also found inside the home, which Valle said had septic tanks that were either full or not working.
"The kitchen sink had been re-plumbed for the water from the faucet to go into a five-gallon bucket sitting on the floor. In addition, the showers and the bathtubs did not appear to be functioning," Valle said.
The parents had previously been charged with evidence of child abuse on two separate occasions. In one of those cases, William was arrested by authorities.
Multiple agencies were involved in their arrests, including the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office, Gwinnett County Police Department, U.S. Marshals, Union County Sheriff's Office, Department of Natural Resources, Georgia State Patrol, Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services and the White County Sheriff's Office.
