Chuck Gettin News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

♪♪ >> reporter: ashlea's mother and stepfather were out of town when the news began arriving in awful, jagged bits. first they heard about the fire, and monica prayed ashlea wasn't hurt. then ashlea's father, tommy harris, called. >> i saw chuck gettin' off the phone. and i saw him wipin' his tears. and i knew that my prayer wasn't answered. >> reporter: chuck couldn't reach ashlea's sister, so he left a message. >> and not two minutes later, my husband called me. and he said, "where are you? i need to come to you." and i said, "what is wrong with my mom? what happened to my mom?" and he s...

Welcome back. investigators immediately suspected the fire that raged through ashlea's apartment was arson. but who would want her dead? enter one eagle-eyed ex-cop who tipped police to something he saw the morning of the fire. little did they know just how helpful his information would turn out to be, and as the crowd just beyond the police tape continued to swell, word was now spreading to ashlea's family. once again, here's keith morrison. >> reporter: ashlea's mother and stepfather were out of town when the news began arriving in awful, jagged bits. first they heard about the fire, and mon...

>> reporter: melissa hill is ashlea's eldest sister. >> she marched to the -- a beat of a different drum. she would wear just things that did not match. her hair was just -- didn't seem combed, you know. >> reporter: she was never the little princess type? >> no. no. >> reporter: there were three girls in the family. ashlea was the baby. their mom, monica, remembers how ashlea loved sports and music and art and bingo! >> it was our mom and daughter bonding time, and she'd just get all giddy and excited. >> reporter: by the time she got to high school, ashlea had lots of friends, even a boyfrie...

>> reporter: ashlea's mother and stepfather were out of town when the news began arriving in awful, jagged bits. first they heard about the fire, and monica prayed ashlea wasn't hurt. then ashlea's father, tommy harris, called. >> i saw chuck gettin' off the phone. and i saw him wipin' his tears. and i knew that my prayer wasn't answered. >> reporter: chuck couldn't reach ashlea's sister, so he left a message. >> and not two minutes later, my husband called me. and he said, "where are you? i need to come to you." and i said, "what is wrong with my mom? what happened to my mom?" and he said, "i...

>> it was our mom and daughter bonding time, and she'd just get all giddy and excited. >> reporter: by the time she got to high school, ashlea had lots of friends, even a boyfriend. and she was devoted to her two dads -- her father tommy and her stepfather, chuck, both retired police officers. didn't she talk at one point about getting into actually your line of work? >> she was interested in policing. i think that she took unique interest in it. >> reporter: but after high school she ended up working, for a short time, at blockbuster video. and that's where she met a customer named laura love...