Newly obtained charging complaints reveal disturbing details about how two young children died in a Liberty County RV fire, and their parents are now charged with murder.
Court documents filed October 20, 2026 in the 253rd Judicial District Court of Liberty County charge Meaghan Michelle Herrod, 30, and Matthew Allen Chambers, 39, each with felony murder in connection with the deaths of their children on August 11, 2026.
According to the charging complaints, both defendants are accused of locking an unattended child in a recreational vehicle with known electrical deficiencies, specifically a refrigerator, without adult supervision. The documents allege the children died while the defendants were in the course of committing the felony of abandoning or endangering a child.
The two children were a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl.
On August 11, Cleveland firefighters responded to a burning RV in Liberty County. The scene was devastating.
“The RV was beginning to collapse when our guys made arrival and for the part that was still standing, they went ahead and crawled into it while it was on fire, extinguishing some of the fire, and while they were going they found the kids,” said Cleveland Fire Chief Sean Anderson.
Liberty County Fire Marshal investigators say the two siblings were found inside the burning RV. It remains unclear where the parents were at the time of the fire.
When asked about the parents’ whereabouts, Fire Chief Anderson said only: “That’s part of the investigation.”
Evidence and interviews ultimately led investigators to file felony murder charges against both Herrod and Chambers. They were arrested Friday and booked into the Liberty County Jail on $1 million bonds each.
Both parents have a prior history with Child Protective Services, according to a CPS spokesperson. The agency declined to provide specific details.
The charging complaint for Chambers also reveals a prior criminal conviction involving a child. Court records show Chambers pleaded guilty in a 2016 child endangerment case in Harris County. Prosecutors said he smoked synthetic marijuana in an enclosed vehicle and became unconscious while traveling with a child under the age of 15 inside the vehicle.
Chambers’ Liberty County charging complaint also notes he was previously convicted of a felony drug charge on July 15, 2015, in Harris County’s 230th District Court.
Both Herrod and Chambers are being held in the Liberty County Jail on $1 million bonds each.
