The mother of a nine-year-old boy has appeared on TV, saying her son is no monster after he was charged with murder for setting a fire that killed five people.
Katrina Alwood appeared on CBS This Morning just two days after her sole surviving child, Kyle Alwood, was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of arson and one count of aggravated arson, accused of intentionally setting his family's trailer home ablaze in April.
![Katrina Alwood says her son, Kyle, is no monster. Photo / CBS](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/GGBMSPJKC5MURRCWVX2HIQA4PM.jpg?auth=250ddc362f93bfc7294d30fcd08cd2f2bb88a9b951ca705f6969a0e4bb209262&width=16&height=13&quality=70&smart=true)
His two half siblings, one-year-old Ariel and two-year-old Daemeon, died, along with his two-year-old cousin, Rose Alwood, his 34-year-old stepfather, Jason Wall, and his great-grandmother, Kathryn Murray, 69.
All the victims died of smoke inhalation after being able to escape the trailer.