Webster, N.Y. - A 15-year-old boy is charged with six counts of second-degree murder and arson in connection with a house fire early Wednesday morning that killed three members of his family.
"I guess I don't really understand the thought process. You really have to be out of your mind," said Meghan Weaver, a family friend who spent much of the day at the hospital with the two survivors.
Michael Pilato is accused of pouring gasoline in the house and later igniting the fire.
Webster fire fighters and police were called to a house on Cardile Drive around 1:06 a.m. Wednesday.
The Webster Fire Department says five people were home at the time.
The Webster School District confirmed that two of the boys who died attended Webster schools.
Josh Pilato was a sixth grader at Spry Middle and Peter Pilato was an eleventh grader at BOCES.
A third girl escaped the house, Elizabeth Pilato, and she is an eighth grader at Spry Middle.
The suspect, Michael Pilato, attended Webster Schroeder and BOCES.
The schools superintendent believed that all the Pilato children at the home were adopted.
One adult male and one boy died at the house. Another boy later died at the hospital.
The adult male's name has not released pending an autopsy by the medical examiner's office.
An adult female was taken to Rochester General Hospital.
One teen female was not transported.
District Attorney-elect Sandra Doorley said Michael Pilato will be charged as a juvenile offender.
"If a juvenile offender is convicted of the crime of murder in the second degree, it carries a sentencing range of
seven and a half years to life, to fifteen years to life," explained Doorley.
Webster Schools have made counselors available through the evening.
Pilato is due back in court with an attorney Thursday morning at 9 a.m.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 12th.
