June 8, 2006

LITTLETON, Colo. -- Investigators will be back on the scene of a garage fire where a 13-year-old girl was found dead.

Firefighters were called to the home in the 8000 block of South Logan Drive at 12:31 p.m., Wednesday, and found the garage in flames.

Littleton police said the body of Jessica Elaine Meyer was found on the floor inside the garage, once the fire was extinguished.

It is not known how the fire started. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday to help investigators determine how the girl died.

The Arapahoe County Coroner's Office said that preliminary findings show Jessica Elaine Meyer's death was fire-related, but the exact cause won't be known until toxicology and other tests results are back in two weeks.

Firefighters found Jessica in the burned garage of her family's home in the 8000 block of South Logan Drive, Wednesday and found the garage in flames.

Investigators haven't said whether the fire was accidental or intentional and have not released a cause.

The house remained sealed as police and fire officials complete their investigations.

Meyer had just finished eighth grade at Powell Middle School and was at home alone on summer break when the fire started.

DENVER -- Littleton police arrested the brother of a 13-year-old girl who was found dead in the family's garage on June 7.

Firefighters found Jessica Meyer in the burned garage of her family's home in the 8000 block of South Logan Drive and found the garage in flames.

Her brother was arrested Monday after a two-month long investigation that revealed that he was responsible for his sister's death, police said.

"We feel very strongly that (his) involvement is directly related to Jessica's death," said Sean Dugan, a spokesman for the Littleton Police Department.

Meyer's brother was arrested for investigation of reckless manslaughter and first-degree arson, police said. Formal charges will be filed by the District Attorney's office on Friday.

The brother is being held without bond until the hearing. He is not being identified by 7News because a determination hasn't been made whether he will be charged as an adult or juvenile.

Several classmates of the boy from Heritage High School staged a rally outside the fire-damaged home on Tuesday night.

"He didn't have anything to do with it," one friend told reporters.

"We feel absolutely outraged that anyone would try and charge him --," said another. "-- for killing his sister. For God's sake, you know," the first friend added.

LITTLETON, Colo. -- The older brother of a teen who died mysteriosly in a garage fire was charged Friday as an adult.

James Meyer, 15, faces charges of first-degree arson and manslaughter. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bond.

His sister, 13-year-old Jessica Meyer, was found dead in her home on June 7. Her body was found in the burned garage of the family's home in the 8000 block of South Logan Drive. Police said a fight between the siblings may have led to her death.

"We believe that he started the fire to conceal her death or at least the cause of her death," said Sean Dugan, a spokesman for the Littleton Police Department.

Dugan said investigators know that the fire was not accidental, there was no sign of forced entry and that James was next door with a friend when she died.

"We feel very strongly that (his) involvement is directly related to Jessica's death," Dugan said.

It took police two months and several interviews to come up with that conclusion. However, many of the boy's friends at Heritage High School don't believe it.

"He didn't have anything to do with it," one friend told reporters.

"We feel absolutely outraged that anyone would try and charge him ... for killing his sister," another friend added.

A Littleton teen pleaded guilty Monday to deliberately starting a fire that killed his younger sister last summer.

James Meyer, a Heritage High School student, pleaded guilty to first-degree arson and manslaughter.

The body of his younger sister, 13-year-old Jessica Meyer, was found dead in the burned garage of the family's home on June 7.

Police said a fight between the siblings may have led to her death.

"We believe that he started the fire to conceal her death or at least the cause of her death," Sean Dugan, a spokesman for the Littleton Police Department, said.

Police said there was no sign of forced entry and that James was next door with a friend when she died.

It took police three months to complete their investigation and charge Meyer as an adult.