Police: Man confesses to murder following fire investigation in Warren County

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A man is facing a murder charge after a fatal fire in Warren County claimed one life.

On Monday around 3:53 a.m., the Warren County Sheriff’s Office was contacted to assist with a fire on the 600 block of Penns Chapel Road.

Police say upon arrival, they found the house fully engulfed.

After the fire was extinguished, police say fire personnel found Wendell Leon Reynolds Jr. dead at the scene.

WCSO detectives and Bowling Green Fire Department fire investigators responded. In addition, the state fire marshal was notified.

After further investigation and an autopsy, authorities say the cause of Reynolds’ death was not due to a fire.

On Thursday, a further investigation led authorities to Clarksville, Tennessee, where they met with the suspect, Sean A. Birge, 28, of Bowling Green.

Officials say Birge provided details and confessed to murdering Reynolds during the interview.

Birge is currently in the Montgomery County Jail in Tennessee.

He is awaiting extradition to Warren County, where he faces charges of murder, arson, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse.