CONCRETE, Wash. — Family members are trying to pick up the pieces after a house fire left three people dead.
“I heard the sirens that morning,” said Matthew Van Boven, whose daughter Jillian was killed.
Police believe the victims were shot before the fire was set. Van Boven said neighbors and friends had alerted him to the fire to warn him in case it spread. He never could have imagined his daughter was inside the home where it happened.
“I just tried to call her and her phone was dead,” he said. “I tried calling her boyfriend Taylor and his phone was dead, but you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you.”
Jillian Whitney Van Boven was 18 years old. She had just graduated high school. She was killed alongside her boyfriend, 19-year-old Taylor Dawson, and his mother, 52-year-old Erin Birman.
“I think what I’ll miss most about Jillian is just following her along on her journey,” Van Boven said.
Jillian loved spending time in nature and was fascinated by forensics and animals. She was excited to start the next chapter of her life.
Van Boven said Jillian was adopted as a child and had recently expressed her appreciation to her mother.
“Two weeks before this happened she told her, ‘Thank you for giving me the best childhood I could have ever imagined,’” he said. “It does bring me peace honestly.”
Van Boven said Jillian’s recent graduation party felt “bizarrely like a memorial” as those closest to her shared their favorite stories and memories.
“It was very heartfelt discussions of all the great times we’ve had with Jillian,” Boven said.
Two separate fundraisers have been set up to help her family.
Help Memorialize Jillian and Support Matthew GoFundMe
Support Gurubani Whitney Young After Tragic Loss GoFundMe
The suspect is still on the run. Police are searching for Birman’s husband, 49-year-old Jason M. Birman. A warrant has been issued for his arrest on three counts of second-degree murder.
Authorities are also searching for Birman’s blue 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck with Washington registration C67636L.
Authorities are asking anyone who witnessed the fire or who has information on Birman’s whereabouts to contact the 24-hour dispatch number at (360) 428-3211 or the Mount Vernon Police during business hours at (360) 336-6271.
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