Home State Police investigate fatal fire in Augusta County
Local, Virginia

State Police investigate fatal fire in Augusta County

Chris Graham

policecar3Three adults and a child are dead following a residential fire in Augusta County Friday night (Dec. 21, 2012). The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Culpeper Field Office is investigating the blaze that destroyed a single-wide trailer on Bolling Heights Lane. Augusta County authorities were notified of the fire shortly before 10 p.m.

Four of the trailer’s five occupants were found deceased at the scene. The deceased include Charles E. Stokes Jr., 40, and Sharon E. Stokes, 47, and their son, Matthew J. Stokes, 9. A grandmother, Wilda J. Stokes, 62, also died.

Wilda Stokes’ husband, Lewis G. Stokes, 67, survived the fire and was transported to Augusta Health, where he was treated and released.

The cause and origin remain under investigation at this time.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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