HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — State police have charged a Harpers Ferry woman with murder and arson after she allegedly killed her husband and daughter then set their residence on fire.
Troopers said Nicole Ellen Taylor, 55, of Harpers Ferry, was arrested Tuesday after a nearly year long investigation.
There was a fire at Taylor’s home on Blackberry Lane in Harpers Ferry on Sept. 30, 2025. Taylor escaped the burning house with serious burn injuries but her husband, Robert Hayne Taylor III, 56, and her daughter, Cynthia Allison Taylor, 21, did not.
Troopers said they began an investigation with the state Fire Marshal’s Office and federal ATF and later determined the was arson. They also learned Robert Taylor and Cynthia Taylor died before the fire. Robert Taylor had been shot several times, troopers said.
Nicole Taylor, who had to be treated at a burn center after the fire, was arrested Tuesday and charged with first degree murder, first degree arson and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Taylor is in the Eastern Regional Jail without bail.