PHOENIX — Catherine Eversole was about to start a new chapter in her life. She just graduated from college and recently became a grandma. Before she could meet her grandson for the first time, she died in a fire that was intentionally set.
The mother of three was inside the J & J Sofa Manufacturing business near 59th Avenue and Buckeye Road in West Phoenix when the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said a man and a woman drove up to the shop, lit an item on fire and threw it at the building.
Eversole and another person, who has not been identified at this time, were trapped as the fire consumed everything. Both died in the blaze.
"We weren't there to save her," said Eversole's daughter, Patricia Howe. "She needed us, and we didn't know."
Nearly a month after the deadly fire Howe, her newborn son and other family members went to see the aftermath for themselves. They wanted to see where their loved one took her last breaths.
"It's a lot to take in," said Carol Williams, Eversole's aunt. "Just knowing that [Eversole] laid there and she was suffering just overwhelmed me."
The family said that Eversole's body was so badly burned they could not hold a funeral for her. Instead, they have created a small vigil at the crime scene.
"Words cannot say how much I miss her right now," Williams said. "I wish I could just give her that one more hug."
Howe and other family members described Eversole as a great mother who cared for everyone. She loved to sing and spend time with her kids. Howe said the last conversation she had with her mom was a phone call the day before the fire.
"We were talking about, like, how it was going and then she told me that it was her absolute pleasure to be my mom and to help me through what I was going through," Howe said.
Williams remembered watching the fire on the news but had no idea her niece was one of the victims. After a few days of not hearing from Eversole, they submitted a missing persons report to authorities. Then just this past week, they got the call that Eversole was dead. She was killed in the blaze.
"I'm very angered because my niece didn't deserve that," Williams said.
At this time MCSO have arrested one suspect identified as Katisha Smith who is facing charges of murder and arson. Smith allegedly told investigators she was "forced to participate" in the incident, records show.
The other suspect is still on the run. Howe said her family won't find closure until that arrest happens.
"My mom is gone because of those people," Howe said. "We need to do justice for my mom and find the second person that was involved because she didn't deserve to go the way that she did."
A GoFundMe has been created by Howe to raise money for funeral expenses. You can find that page by clicking here.
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