Relatives describe 9 who died in western Kentucky house fire as part of a loving family

GREENVILLE, Ky. – Chad and Nikki Watson moved around western Kentucky over the years before returning to Muhlenberg County — the coal-laden ground where they both grew up — to raise their nine children in a home owned by a relative.

Eight of those children and their mother died in that house early Thursday morning after a blaze tore through the structure. Only the father, 36-year-old Chad Watson and an 11-year-old daughter, Kylie Watson, survived.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Stu Recke says 35-year-old LaRae “Nikki” Watson and her children were found in the master bedroom of the home, part of which had collapsed during the blaze. Recke says that could be an indication they were trying to escape through a window, but investigators aren’t sure.