The home of Marie Lamothe, 66, was burned to the ground on her birthday by her ex- lover, who reportedly set the family home on fire after an argument.
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 11, 2022 A 66-year-old woman and her family in Ladyville are being assisted by NEMO after their home, which contained all their belongings, was destroyed by a fire allegedly set by the matriarch’s estranged lover. The fire occurred on the same day that Marie Lamothe, 66, celebrated her birthday with her loved ones, who all live as an extended family at their Ladyville home, a two-story structure where the elderly woman resides in the lower flat, and other members of the extended family live upstairs. Ten persons in total are left without a home following the fire on Tuesday night.
An argument between the woman and her ex-common-law husband is what is believed to have prompted him to set the fire. He had threatened that he would burn down the house, according to Gabriela Lamothe, Marie Lamothe’s daughter, who also had to escape from the home. Ronaldo Sebastian thankfully awoke in the heat of the fire and was able to alert the rest of his relatives, after first bolting to secure his grandmother.
They are certain that Lamothe’s ex- common-law husband committed the crime, and the matriarch has since been in conversation with police over the incident. The chairman of the village told local media that the family would be accommodated in a house for at least a month or two until they can pick up the pieces of their lives.
The elder woman and her granddaughter have been sleeping in a makeshift tent, while the others slept in an old vehicle that was in the yard, as they tried to stay dry during the constant rains the country experienced this week. They are asking the public for any contributions that can help them get back on their feet, since everything they owned was destroyed in the fire.
“For right now the neighbour and NEMO is trying to help her out and lend her a house for the meanwhile across from where she lives. NEMO is helping her with mattress and little stuff to get together. But if anybody else could come in and give something like groceries, because she lost everything. It’s really sad, but I’m a person that believe in God and to me the most important thing is that my mom and my family is safe,” Gabriela told a local reporter.
There has been no indication whether the man believed to be the arsonist has yet been detained by police.