A father from Wisconsin is now facing multiple charges of child neglect after allegedly abandoning his three children during a tragic house fire last November, resulting in their deaths.
Joshua Kannin, aged 39, was formally charged with child neglect on April 21. The charges stem from an incident where Kannin reportedly left his young children inside their burning Kenosha residence on Thanksgiving Day, fleeing the scene in a state of panic.
The fire claimed the lives of Rylee, 10, Connor, nine, and Alena, seven. According to a criminal complaint acquired by the NY Post, the inferno completely consumed the family home.
When Kenosha police arrived in response to 911 calls on November 27, 2025, they found Kannin outside in distress, clad only in his underwear, desperately pleading for assistance, as detailed in the complaint.
Emergency personnel discovered the two brothers on the first floor of the residence, while the young daughter was found on the second floor.
Tragically, both boys were pronounced dead at the scene. Alena was transported to the hospital suffering from severe burns covering 80 percent of her body, but she too succumbed to her injuries.
Kannin was also hospitalized following the blaze. The 39-year-old reportedly admitted to smoking a cigarette before bed, according to the outlet.
He jolted awake in the middle of the night, unsure if it was because his ‘cat making noise’ or the smoke, the complaint stated.
Joshua Kannin, 39, is accused of leaving his young children in the fiery home
Rylee, 10; Connor, 9; and Alena, 7, all died in the blaze at the Kenosha, Wisconsin home
The two boys died at the scene, while Alena was taken to the hospital with severe burns covering a staggering 80 percent of her body, she later died
The father went into the kitchen, where he saw a ‘little fire’ before he ‘panicked and walked out the front door.’
‘At that moment, he thought to himself, “I have to get help,”‘ according to police.
The father also told authorities he tried to go back inside the burning home, but the smoke plumes were too thick and he ‘couldn’t see.’
‘I barely got two steps in and I had to turn back around,’ Kannin told police. ‘When I opened the door, I made it worse.’
Firefighters discovered there were no smoke detectors in the 39-year-old’s home, following an investigation.
Kannin allegedly told authorities his smoke detector would frequently ‘malfunction’ and randomly ‘make sounds,’ so he took it down.
The father also had boards plastered over the windows to ‘prevent burglaries,’ WITI reported.
Investigators found that a stovetop burner was left on, court filings obtained by the outlet said. The filings stated that the kitchen seemed to be where the fire broke out.
Investigators also found evidence that two of the children possibly went into the kitchen to make their own food before the blaze started.
Firefighters discovered there were no smoke detectors in the 39-year-old’s home
The father also had boards plastered over the windows to ‘prevent burglaries’
The children are seen in a photo together during happier times
The kids’ devastated mother, Jourdan Feasby, spoke out to CBS58, calling her ex’s apartment ‘disgusting,’ describing it as ‘fend for yourself in a sense.’
‘I was on him about not having the smoke detectors, I let his mother know who cleaned his house once a week that there were no smoke detectors, I let the landlord know there were no smoke detectors,’ Feasby told the outlet.
Stricken with grief, she says she’s ‘just a shell’ and that she died with her children that day.
‘It’s just been pure hell for myself and my family. I’m literally living my worst nightmare,’ Feasby said to the outlet.
Stricken with grief, Jourdan Feasby says she’s ‘just a shell’ ever since her children died
Feasby said she is living her ‘worst nightmare’ following the death of her children
The fire was ruled an ‘accidental common household fire,’ with investigators saying there was no evidence the father intentionally set the fire.
Feasby told the outlet she is ‘bittersweet’ about the charges placed on her ex, adding that she will push for justice and that there needs to be ‘serious repercussions.’
