A man in North City, Missouri, has been arrested after he was accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend and her daughter before he set their home on fire.
Michael McNair has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of first-degree arson.
McNair, 40, was arrested after he allegedly killed his girlfriend, Latasha Brown, and her 9-year-old daughter.
Both victims were found inside of their home on December 21, 2025, with gunshot wounds to the head, according to court documents viewed by Us Weekly. Brown, 45, and her daughter were taken to a hospital to receive treatment, where they later died.
In addition to shooting his girlfriend and her daughter, police said that McNair also set the home the three of them lived in on fire. Authorities said that McNair disabled the smoke detectors inside before the home was set ablaze.
Court documents said the fire was caused by arson, according to the outlet. Police officers looked at the smoke detectors that had been removed and found that the fingerprints on the devices matched McNair.
Police said that McNair and Brown had been dating for several months prior to the incident, though not much else is known about their relationship.
After police found Brown and her daughter, police tracked McNair and Brown’s phones and found they were traveling to the same locations. Police also found a device installed in Brown’s missing car, which they were able to track to an abandoned house in Poplar Bluff.
Once police located McNair, he reportedly admitted that he was in a relationship with Brown and that they lived together in the home. He said that they got into a fight on the night that Brown and her daughter were killed, and he also admitted to driving Brown’s car to Poplar Bluff that same night. McNair said he traveled to the location because he has family and associates that live there.
Before McNair was located, the U.S. Marshals Office got involved in an attempt to track him down.
U.S. Marshals Assistant Chief James Tapp said that multiple people helped McNair while he was on the run.
“He was bouncing around addresses all over Poplar Bluff. We did have information and then the snowstorm kind of hit and that led to a couple of days as well to safely get down there since it’s not in the St. Louis metro area,” Tapp told reporters, per KSDK.
Tapp added that officials made multiple attempts in early January to take McNair into custody, though they had all been unsuccessful.
Brown was remembered by her sister, Lisa Thomas, following her passing.
“There are no words that can fully capture the pain we live with every day,” Thomas said, according to KSDK. “LaTasha was a loving sister, a devoted mother, and a woman whose presence brought warmth and laughter into every room. Paige was a bright, joyful child with her whole life ahead of her — a child who deserved to grow up, to dream, and to be safe. Their futures were stolen from them, and from all of us who loved them.”
McNair is currently being held without bail. It’s not clear if he has entered a plea or retained legal representation.
