Gwinnett Daily Post

Staff Photo: John Bohn . One year later, an alleged meth house where three children died in an explosion, remains boarded and empty. The home is located at 1197 Spring Mill Drive at the intersection of Five Forks Trickum Road in Lilburn.

LILBURN -- The bank that owns the Lilburn meth home where three children were killed last year has decided to tear the structure down, police said Tuesday.

JPMorgan Chase Bank was fined $9,000 last month for the condition of the home on Spring Mill Road where, on Feb. 17 of last year, a flash fire fueled by methamphetamine killed children ages 18 months to 4 years. For more than a year, neighbors complained about the condition of the home. Past ordinance violations included broken windows, stairs, tall weeds and grass, open storage and the fact that the structure is burned.

JPMorgan Chase Bank now has plans to tear down the home, built in 1983 and recently appraised at $191,000, Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Edwin Ritter confirmed to the Daily Post.

A spokesman for the bank declined comment Tuesday.

A timeline for the potential demolition of the home was unclear. Don Kiefaber, a Realtor who lives down the street, said he didn't think "there is any reason to wait."

Authorities believe the home played host to a lab run by methamphetamine traffickers with ties to drug cartels. Ten pounds of meth and nearly $200,000 were pulled from the home after the fire.

The mother of the three children killed, 23-year-old Neibi Brito, remains at Gwinnett County Jail on murder charges, as does an alleged accomplice. A third murder suspect, Ivan Gonzalez, remains at large.