Man charged with murder in mother-in-law arson case
The Walker County Fire Marshal has charged Carless Lebron Cross with murder for allegedly setting his wife’s house on fire in November 2015, killing another woman inside.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Cross set the fire one night using a propane tank on the porch of Monty Colleen Cross’ house, located at 23 Myers
Road in Chickamauga. Carless Cross, 42, and Colleen Cross were estranged and arguing about a divorce at the time.
Someone tampered with the bleed valve on the propane tank, according to the report. As a result, the tank’s safety valve was bypassed as the fire started. It destroyed Colleen Cross’ house and killed Nevely Colleen Lewis, a 71-yearold dependent adult.
According to a WRCB-TV report, Lewis was Colleen Cross’ mother.
County Fire Marshal Waymond Westbrook applied for arrest warrants against Carless Cross on charges of arson and murder Wednesday. He did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Witnesses told investigators that Carless Cross had threatened to burn down his wife’s house before that night. During an interview, an investigator noticed the skin from Carless Cross’ forearm to his bicep was red.
He said he was injured while welding without sleeves at work. But his boss told an investigator that Carless Cross was a material handler, not a welder.
The fire marshal’s office also charged 43-year-old Lisa Michelle Cross this week with making a false statement. According to an affidavit, Lisa Cross was dating Carless Cross at the time of the fire.
She allegedly told an investigator that she and Carless Cross were at Parkridge East Hospital the night of the fire. In fact, security camera footage shows them at the hospital — but not until about five hours after Lisa Cross said they arrived.