TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Search warrants released to the public Thursday revealed new details about the suspects in a deadly house fire in Alexander County last weekend.
The documents showed in addition to a domestic violence order, 30-year-old Areli Aguirre Avilez was convicted of assaulting 38-year-old Maria Calderon in December 2018.
The search warrants said that in an interview with detectives, Avilez denied setting fire to Calderon's home or killing her two children, 11-year-old Angel E. Pacheco and 12-year-old America D. Pacheco.
But just one day after talking with deputies, warrants said 16-year-old Heidi Wolfe admitted she and Avilez went to Calderon's home.
Deputies said Wolfe told them Avilez killed two people inside before a little girl ran outside. In the warrants, Wolfe said Avilez told her to run over the girl, which, she said, she complied.
Warrants also revealed a specially-trained SBI K-9 detected several areas at Calderon's burned-out house, where a possible accelerant was used. Deputies and firefighters on-scene all said they could smell a strong odor of gasoline.
The kids' bodies were discovered at the scene on Sunday, according to deputies. Flames broke out around 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the home on Pine Meadows Lane in Taylorsville.
Investigators said Wolfe admitted she and Avilez dumped Calderon's body in the Catawba River near the Oxford Dam, but her remains have not been found.
Wolfe and Avilez were being held without bond on three counts of first-degree murder. They made their first court appearance on June 21.
Investigators previously said they were trying to find Jose Carlos Mendez and Luis Fernando Sanchez, who were acquaintances of Calderon. They were not considered suspects.
Anyone with information about this case should call 828-632-2911 or Crime Stoppers at 828-632-8555.