Wednesday July 27, firefighters responded to the fire around 11 a.m. on the 12100 block of Fairfax Hunt Road. Photo by Bonnie Hobbs.
Despite pleas from the girl’s family, Fairfax County Police have released the name of the young victim who was found dead along with the body of Roy Eugene Rumsey, 58, in an upstairs bedroom at the scene of a house fire in Fairfax on July 27.
In a post on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 16, FCPD named the girl as Kyra Franchetti.
“We’re trying to be sympathetic to the family,” said Maj. Ed O’Carroll, director of the police Public Affairs Bureau, the day before the release.
O’Carroll said police have received “dozens of calls” from the family, friends of the family and the family’s legal counsel, asking them to not release the name.
But on advice from the County Attorney, Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler decided to move forward.
“What we’ve been doing for decades is still accurate,” O’Carroll said, “sharing the names of homicide victims.”
O’Carroll confirmed Rumsey — the girl’s father — murdered her, set the house on fire, then killed himself.
The Tuesday afternoon release said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined both Rumsey and Franchetti died from gunshot wounds.
It also said Franchetti had been matched biologically to Rumsey through DNA.
Several cans of gasoline were found throughout the house, located at 12107 Fairfax Hunt Road, indicating multiple points of origin for the fire, according to police.
The department has grappled with the name release; it’s unusual for there to be such a young victim.
“It’s tragic for everyone,” O’Carroll said.
Virginia state senator and lawyer Scott Surovell (D-36) is representing the family of the dead child.
“Kyra was on visitation with her father,” Surovell said in a statement.
Speaking for the family, he continued, “We continue to mourn the loss of a beautiful, innocent little girl who was the victim of a senseless act.”
“Kyra’s mother and her family simply ask for their privacy as they continue to grieve,” Surovell said.
The police investigation is ongoing.