Court papers say Fort Cobb man admitted shooting children before burning house

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Court papers show a man arrested in the deaths of his three young children admits he shot them in the head before setting their house ablaze.<br/><br/>Dean Robert Payne is charged

Tuesday, August 30th 2005, 5:47 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Court papers show a man arrested in the deaths of his three young children admits he shot them in the head before setting their house ablaze.

Dean Robert Payne is charged with three counts of murder in federal court in Oklahoma City because the crime occurred on American Indian land near Fort Cobb.

Payne was arrested Friday after authorities found 9-year-old Cirea, 7-year-old Keelie and 5-year-old Tye in the smoldering remains of his home in Caddo County.

Payne told the FBI that he retrieved guns from his car, which he parked in the driveway to impede fire department personnel after he set the house ablaze.

He says he shot the children twice in the head with a 22-caliber pistol, then used flammable liquid to ignite the house with their bodies inside.

Payne told authorities he tried to kill himself with a gun but was unsuccessful and ran out of the house, watching it and his children burn from a nearby field.