On June 11, 1986, a house fire in Iraan, Texas, killed Elizabeth Betsy Grace Beleu, 24, and Gail Joe Allison, 25. Examiners later judged the blaze incendiary. The charred remains of both women were found in separate bedrooms of the three-bedroom home they shared.

Two men were in the house that night: Ernest Ray Willis and his cousin Billy Willis. Billy escaped by jumping from a bedroom window and suffered multiple injuries and heavy smoke inhalation. Ernest said he had been sleeping on the living room sofa and emerged without burns or smoke inhalation, smoking a cigarette while firefighters worked. Arson examiners reported flammable liquid poured through living and dining areas, in front of bedroom doorways, around entrances, and on the sofa where Ernest said he had been. The fire burn patterns were described as originating in the living area and spreading rapidly.

Ernest Willis was convicted of capital murder in August 1987 and sentenced to death. Later developments included a 1990 confession by another inmate, questions about physical evidence, and claims that Willis had been given high doses of antipsychotic medication during his trial; a federal judge overturned the conviction in 2004 and Willis was released after 17 years on death row. Is there anyone who knew Betsy Beleu or the household who can add details about that night?