My Name is Troy Jeffrey Childers and this is My Life!

Bridgett Marie Burton on Left

Ashley Babette Burton on Right

The Death of My Three Baby Sisters

To whom maybe interested,

On February 25, 1991 I came home with my step-father Bob Burton

and learned that my three baby sisters whom I saw each and every

day had been in a tragic fire that engulfed our trailer located in

County View trailer park in Virginia Beach.

After me and my step-dad arrived beside our blackened trailer

we were both directed to get in a black van with The Virginia Beach

Chaplin number one inside. The sliding door was open on the van

and I noticed two small bodies on the front lawn covered in bright

white sheets.

I would later find out that this was my oldest sister Bridgett Marie

Burton and my youngest sister, Barbie Lee Burton. There were men

in business suits that were pulling back the sheets from their lifeless

bodies to take pictures. I and my step father both were crying our

eyes out. It was the only time that I ever saw him cry.

I was fifteen years old when my baby sisters died in that fire. The

oldest Bridget was four years old and the youngest, Barbie, she was

practically just an infant, that little baby girl was barely old enough

to sit in a baby walker and while sitting in that walker is the moment

she took her final breath.

One of my other baby sisters Ashlee Marie Burton was pronounced

brain dead and burnt beyond recognition with burns covering 80%

of her body. Even with the severity of her condition the burn trauma

unit at Norfolk General Hospital managed to keep her body alive on

a machine. Before she passed they asked us to go into a room with

her for one final goodbye. I wish that I never walked into that room

because that awful image was stuck in my mind for many years.

Later at the funeral, Bridgett and Barbie laid together at one end of

the coffin while Ashlee was wrapped in what looked like a white

plastic trash bag covering her head. Ashlee could not be seen while

Bridgett and Barbie Burton looked like fake toy dolls with make-up.

It is my belief that my mother purposely murdered my sisters. She

even had the nerve to try and blame it on me when I was miles away

working on a roof at the oceanfront. I learned later that my mother

had an awful childhood also but even with this knowledge and God

in my heart it is difficult to forgive her of this horrible act.

This was a story that was aired all over the world by TV news

stations such as CNN world headline news.

Prior to this event Police, firetrucks and ambulances were at our

home almost every week because of my mom doing really crazy

things such as starting fires, slicing her wrists, turning gas stoves

on purpose in order to kill everyone in the house.

There were times when child protective did pay us a visit. On one

occasion when I was thirteen and they saw no food in our cabinets

and did nothing but tell my parents to go get some food.

Even with police, ambulances and firefighters showing up at our

home on a continued basis over a period of years, no problem was

ever addressed. No child protective service came to our home to

investigate which could have saved my baby sisters lives.

My mom did crazy things like this for years while my family lived at

multiple addresses.

I was 15 years old when my sisters died in this horrific manner.

If there was an investigation or intervention by Child Protective

Services then my sisters may still be alive. I cannot help to think

about the pain and suffering that my baby sisters endured in this

fire. No child should ever go through something so terrifying.

I came home and played with my sisters each day, I still

remember Bridgett’s laughter.

The Virginian Pilot and Ledger Star Newpaper

2 SISTERS DIE, 3RD IS CRITICALLY HURT IN TRAILER FIRE

Published: February 26, 1991

Section: LOCAL, page D1

Source: Lynn Waltz, Staff writer

© 1991- Landmark Communications Inc.

VIRGINIA BEACH - Fire swept through a trailer home Monday afternoon, killing

two young sisters and critically injuring a third sister, apparently after they were

left alone at the County View Mobile Homes in the Kempsville section.

The mother of the children had gone to a nearby 7-Eleven to buy milk for the

youngest girl when her car ran out of gas and delayed her return, said the man

who drove her home. Bridget Burton, 3 1/2, was pronounced dead at the scene,

fire officials said. Barbie Burton, 1, was pronounced dead when she arrived at

Sentara Leigh Memorial Hospital shortly after the fire broke out at 4:40 p.m.

The third child, Ashley Burton, 2 1/2, has burns over 80 percent of her body,

most of them third degree, said officials at Leigh.

Though the cause of the fire was undetermined Monday night, arson is not

suspected.

Though reports initially suggested that the children had been left in the care of

a 15-year-old police said they do not think the teenager was in the trailer when

the fire broke out.

``The best information we have is that the 15-year-old was not home,'' said

police Lt. Wray Boswell. ``We'll continue to investigate if she (the mother)

knowingly left them alone.''

Jerry Eddins, a Norfolk man who drove home the mother, Brenda Burton, from

the convenience store, said the woman was panicky when she arrived at the

trailer park.

``When we drove to the dead-end street, one end of the trailer was engulfed in

flames with black smoke pouring out,'' said Eddins, an employee of the nearby

Waterworks Supply Co. on Bonney Road. ``Some people were trying to get into

the trailer. . . . People were screaming that there were some little kids inside. . .

. The mother was screaming, `Oh my babies,' as she ran up to the trailer.''

Eddins said Brenda Burton was not wearing a coat and had intended to make a

quick trip to the store and return home. ``It couldn't have been more than 15

or 20 minutes between the time she came into the store and when I carried her

back to the trailer,'' he said.

The girls' father, whose first name was not immediately available, is a self-

employed roofer. He was called from a job when the fire broke out.

Neighbors trying to rescue the children were driven back by flames and heat

when they broke down the door and broke windows. Firefighters, arriving at

4:45, carried the three children into the yard at the end of Landola Drive, where

a neighbor performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on one of the children.

A Navy couple, Elisabel and Thomas Brown, had just returned home from work

when the fire broke out.

``I was the first one to get there,'' Thomas Brown said. ``The front living-room

window and door was in flames. I kicked the door open, and the whole living

room was filled with flames. I couldn't hear anyone inside. Another guy broke a

window and had to back out. The smoke was too great.''

Neighbors ran a garden hose and tried unsuccessfully to cool down a window to

enter the trailer. Drivers along the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway, who

spotted the flames, jumped over the highway fence, but no one could get

inside, witnesses said.

``The mother was hysterical,'' Elisabel Brown said. ``She was the one that told

us it was the kids.''

Firefighters said that the youngest child was found in a round, plastic baby-

walker in the hallway and that the two other children were lying on a bed in the

back bedroom.

``I believe they must have been sleeping,'' said Battalion Chief Chase N.

Sargent. ``Otherwise, they would have been trying to hide or get away from the

smoke.''

Thomas Brown's mother, Lynne Morgan, a nurse visiting from New Jersey, gave

CPR to one of the children, she said.

``I told them I was a nurse and the fireman said, `Do CPR,' '' Morgan said.

Morgan saw the flames first when she returned from the store to her son's

trailer, next door to the fire.

Firefighters first put out flames in the front of the trailer, then moved to the

rear where access was blocked by a washer and dryer, Sargent said.

The blaze began in the front living room, officials said. The cause will be

released today after the completion of the investigation. By 6 p.m. Monday, the

white trailer with small brown shutters was no longer smoldering. Its metal

framework showed through the open side where fire had burned through the

aluminum siding.

Neighbors still stood in the street talking about the tragedy.

``They just moved in this summer,'' one said. ``We didn't even know them.''

``I've lived here 30 years,'' said another. ``It's just unbelievable how quickly

these trailers go up.''

A 37-year-old man who has lived in the trailer court for 12 years said he's seen

fires there before. `I’ve seen three or four go up and they do go up quick, but

they've always gotten out,'' he said. ``That's what's so sad. It's so sad.'

3RD SISTER IN BEACH FIRE DIES AS LIFE SUPPORT IS CUT

Published: February 27, 1991

Section: LOCAL, page D3

Source: Lynn Waltz, Staff writer

© 1991- Landmark Communications Inc.

VIRGINIA BEACH - Ashley Burton, 2 1/2, was removed from life support

machines at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on Tuesday morning, becoming

the third sister to die from a fire that swept through a trailer home Monday

afternoon.

``There was still a little bit of hope one of them would make it,'' said the girls'

father, Bob Burton. ``I lost my three little girls, and nothing can replace them.

We lost everything.'' Bridget Burton, 3 1/2, was pronounced dead at the scene

of the fire Monday. Barbie Burton, 1, was pronounced dead at Sentara Leigh

Hospital shortly after the fire broke out at 4:40 p.m.

Ashley was taken from the trailer in cardiac arrest. She was later revived but

had burns over 80 percent of her body. Her father gave permission for her to be

taken off life support Tuesday morning during a visit to the American Red

Cross.

The Red Cross has provided lodging and food for three days for Burton, his

wife, Brenda, and Brenda's 15-year-old son, Troy Jeffrey Childers. The

organization also gave them vouchers for clothing. Everything they had was

destroyed in the fire, a Red Cross caseworker said.

Investigations have shown that the fire had started in the living room, but the

cause is still undetermined. Arson is not suspected.

On Monday afternoon, Burton, a roofer for 20 years, was at his business, Burton

Roofing Inc. on Laskin Road, when he got a phone call telling him that there

was an emergency and to hurry home.

He had just called his wife to tell her he was on his way home, but the

emergency call came before he could leave. Brenda Burton left the trailer after

her husband called. She had gone to buy milk at a nearby 7-Eleven.

But she ran out of gas and went into Waterworks Supply Co. on Bonney Road to

see whether someone could drive her home. An employee, Jerry Eddins, drove

her to her home at the end of Landola Drive in the Kempsville area. They saw

the trailer in flames.

``Brenda's not holding up too good,'' Bob Burton said. ``Today was really a

shocker. It really tore her up today.''

Confusion about whether Troy Jeffrey Childers, who is Brenda Burton's son and

Bob's stepson, was caring for the children was clarified Tuesday. The family and

police said he was with his stepfather at work.

Brenda Burton left the trailer only after getting a call that they were both on

their way home. Police are investigating the circumstances under which the

children were left.

Burton said he had no idea where the family would go now.

``I know it's going to be rough,'' he said. ``I don't know where we're going to

live. We lost everything we had. We'll have to start all over, but it won't be the

same.''

A Red Cross caseworker, Nancy Wassenaar, said that the Red Cross would

extend the family's stay at a local motel and provide the first month's rent when

they find a place to live.

FUND STARTED TO ASSIST VICTIMS OF TRAILER FIRE

1 of 3 articles found.

Published: March 2, 1991 in LOCAL section, page B3

Length: 83 words

Source: From staff reports

Story excerpt: VIRGINIA BEACH - A fund has been started for the family who lost

their three young children and everything they owned in a trailer fire.

The fire started about 4:40 p.m. Monday in the trailer of Bob and Brenda Burton

at the end of Landola Drive in the County View Trailer Park in Kempsville. The

fire killed Bridget, 3 1/2, Ashley, 2 1/2, and Barbie, 1.

Donations may be sent to the Benefit of the Burton Family, Cenit Bank for

Savings, 905 Kempsville Road, Virginia Beach, Va. 23464.

I Loved You So Much My Baby Sisters

I always hated court. I had to testify at my mom’s trial. I was coached to lie

and say that she was not an alcoholic among other things. The court room was

full of TV reporters and they would always hound me and my older sister for

interviews. I remember that it was a horrible experience for me getting up on

that stand.

After the above events took place, my step father had met another woman who

had children of her own. They later would marry and Bob Burton became very

successful with his roofing company, Burton Roofing.

At 16 years of age I was on my own. I sometimes was homeless sleeping on

a sidewalk or at a homeless shelter. I stayed with anyone who would keep me.

I would clean an apartment for some friends for food sometimes. Those guys

put me through hell! I worked for Bob off and on for many years.

My mother went to jail for three charges of neglect. She was not in jail for

more than two years and after she got out she continued to drink heavily and

smoke allot.

My mother, BRENDA J. BURTON passed away in 1996 at 44 years

old.

A Couple of Years After:

At seventeen years of age I hooked up with older women with six children. I

was not mentally right at the time because of what I have been through. This

woman was more like the mother that I never had. She took advantage of my

young mind. She liked to have more children so that she could receive more

welfare benefits. I was with this woman for ten years and wow! What a roller-

coaster ride.

She had six kids and I had two more kids with her at a young age. We never

had any money. Donna had no idea how to save or manage money in any way.

She had a cousin that no longer could have kids. This woman would take some

of the kids on weekends. She grew very fond of one child and started taking

the child every weekend for over four years. There was a time when she even

made it out like it was a joke and offered us $20,000 to adopt the child that she

had grew fond of.

Eventually behind our back she started all the trouble that she could to gain

custody of the child. It started out as just monthly investigations from

anonymous calls to Child Protective services. Someone then started making

false reports about us on a weekly basis all from anonymous phone calls. Every

week there was a new complaint and investigation with multiple investigators

that were sometimes unaware of each other.

There were a days when one investigator would leave our home and hours

later another one would knock at our door, the investigator was completely

unaware of the other that left our home only a few hours before he showed up.

There were times when police and welfare workers would burst through the

door very late at night.

No matter where we went someone was calling child protective on us every

week for about a four year period.

We never suspected this evil woman that caused all of this because she would

always help us out. It never once crossed our minds that this women was

planning a way to take our children. We did not realize how strong her

emotional attachment to the child had become and how she was willing to do

anything to gain custody of this child. We trusted this woman and loved her

like family.

In 1997 I was invited to relocate to Jacksonville, Florida by a good friend. We

moved our large family to Florida for six months and after becoming homesick

we wanted to move back to Virginia.

A shit stormed erupted after we moved back to Virginia. Suddenly we were

the worsted people in the world. Not more than a few weeks after moving

back from Florida, they took all eight of our children and there were so many

accusations of horrific awful things.

Donna was definitely NOT the best parent in the world but she did take care of

her children. For years Donna was forced to take all kinds of classes and she

kissed their ass and did everything they asked of her, however this poor mother

would not see her kids again for many years after they have grown into

adulthood.

I was just a kid when this all happened. I was charged with like 8 charges of

awful things. I was a pretty dumb kid, just a roofing laborer. I had no Idea

what was going on. My stepfather really helped me out when I was in that

situation.

It was all a nightmare; a fiasco of people all wanted our kids. It seemed as

though everyone in Donna s big ass family had retained a lawyer trying to

adopted these children for themselves.

There were prospected adopted parents and Guardian Ad Litems. We are

talking about eight kids here; there was money to be made all over the place on

the legal side.

When something happens like this to a person all people do is assume and

gossip about events for the rest of your life. I always felt like they have no idea

what happened and they were not there.

This all happened right after The Adoption and Safe Families Act was signed

by Bill Clinton on November 19, 1997. Now at this time I’m not going to go

into detail about what that is and how the family court system changed. It’s

best to do your own research on this, however I will post a videos of a women

that I think was a hero, Nancy Schaefer. She was later murdered.

TROY NIRVANA

I lost my son and my daughter and the evil, manipulative woman that caused

this massive shit storm in our lives was also ordered by the Judge to take my

daughter if she wanted to adopt the one child that she wanted. This woman

had money and she was respected because of it of course and we did not have

a pot to piss in.

We had no money for an attorney and we knew nothing about the family court

system. We were both emotionally destroyed and lacked the courage to stand

up to all of these people and fight.

This evil woman manipulated the court system and took our children. It took

her years to succeed in her evil plot but eventually she legally kidnapped our

children and also had the rest of the children put in foster care.

Later, my daughter Nirvana Childers told me how this woman abused her. My

daughter has scars all over her legs and arms. Most of the scars are burns from

a cigarette lighter that are from this woman burning her over and over when

she was just a toddler. She was once punished by being put in a dryer by this

woman. After this woman put her in the dryer, the dryer was then turned on.

Nirvana was only a small toddler when this happened and threw up all over

herself while spinning around probably scared to death.

Eventually this woman still received a state government check for taking care

of my daughter and then pawned her off to multiple strangers all across the

country, from New York State to California. This led her to being in many

unsafe places at a young age. She was raped when she was very young and she

witnessed a suicide at twelve years of age.

I am pretty close to Nirvana and I must say that she is not an angel but I love

her so very much. At the time of writing this my daughter Nirvana is nineteen

years old.

My son, Troy Jeffrey Childers so far has never been found. They just give

these kids to people and never check up on them. It really blows my mind!

Often these kids are never seen or heard from ever again.

This is the last picture that I have of my son.

I always hoped to find Troy one day. I tried calling vital statistics but all that I

could find out is that his name has been changed.

In Another Life Many Years Later

I became successful for a short period of my life. I met a beautiful younger

woman and had two kids with her. Life was like living in heaven. I had lots of

money and a wonderful wife. During this time frame a man that I called my

brother, James Fowler,(Jimbo) hung himself over child support in 2006. I loved

him; it was hard to go to his funeral in Georgia. I cried my eyes out for days.

Later, due to the economy and poor decisions that I made I lost my business

and my financial freedom. As they say when the money goes so do the women

Ha Ha.

Losing everything that I had and my family was devastating to me. I had my

kids every weekend and sometimes four to five days a week so that she could

go on dates and sow her wild oats. I was happy with this arrangement, I

devoted all of my time to being a father.

Every once and a while my Ex, Jessica Childers would have a boyfriend that

would become controlling and would not allow me to see my children for up to

a period of six to seven months. Each time that she would break up with

another boyfriend she would call me to use me for what she could. We had

sexual relations for over two years after our divorce.

I loved my kids! I looked forward to spending weekends with them. I tried to

stay away from her for a few months because I was tired of being hurt by her

and hoping that we could somehow get back together. This caused her to find

another controlling man that wanted to take my position as father to my girls.

I have not seen my kids but two to three times in a two year period. I have

no money and live in a room in my sister’s home. I am ordered to pay a Child

support order that left me with one hundred dollars a week at my last job. I

have no future, nowhere to turn. I have no Idea what do but to try and make

myself keep going. I now face jail and my license being suspended. I have

never been so down in the dumps with no way out.

This is My Life, I left out allot of details, many details. I will try to update this

from Time To Time, if I am able to.

I miss my Girls, Harley Marie Childers and Zoey Lynn Childers so Very much!

We had So much fun together. I love you girls always and forever!

I Love you Harley and Zoey! I Miss Yall so Much!! I am leaving links to all the

videos and Photos of you that I have in this blog. I could only find two cloud

websites that let me upload all the videos for free. Hopefully they will still be

around by the time that you girls find this.

I really hope that you girls find this when you are older! I Love you and miss

you! It’s tearing me apart!

Chesapeake, Virginia

No Matter What Anyone Tells You, Know That I Love You More Than Life!

I Love and Miss You Harley and Zoey. You’re Always in My Heart.

Zoey Childers and Harley Childers, Daddy will always love you!