Following the tragic incident, subsequent reporting by many media outlets led to a discrepancy in media reports

Of the factors not completely clear due in part to this discrepancy

Why or how did the boys end up in the windowless bathroom?

Two news stations, WTOL 11 and Monore News, both written in July of 2016, reported that it remained unclear as to why the boys went into the bathroom during the fire, rather than exiting the residence.

Another source, Michigan Live, reported that investigators had ruled out the possibility that the boys were herded into the windowless bathroom, where they were subsequently locked in.

I know what you’re thinking, “If they were forced into the bathroom then locked in while a fire was started, why didn’t they just break the lock to get out and make a run for it?” The reason they couldn’t was that the lock to the bathroom was on the outside. What’s more is that during the investigation, it was discovered that not only was the bathroom only able to be locked from the outside but that it was actually “an addition” to the farmhouse.

As for the Michigan Live report, it appears to quote a Citizen Patriot article,¹ written on the incident back in 1983. The latter article reads:

“Ordered into the windowless bathroom by their assailants, the boys soon realized their danger as smoke seeped under the door, the room’s only exit.”

Reportedly, as the scene was being investigated once the fire was put out, one of the bodies was notably discovered in the bathtub. Investigators surmise that the boy had filled the tub and tried to submerge himself in the water in a desperate bid to survive, to no avail. Unfortunately, the bathtub in question was found to be made of fiberglass and consequently melted around him.

Going by the theory of a home invasion, due to the discrepancy, it is unclear whether David and Tim were already in the bathroom when their assailants broke in, or if they were made to go in there by force.

Furthermore, it is unclear as to where the fire started. According to the 1983 Citizen Patriot article, gasoline was poured in front of the bathroom door and ignited; however, more recent reports claim that the fire was started from the kitchen, which was located adjacent to the bathroom.

The Aftermath