Property Invasion, Damages, Trespass Arson

Status
Not open for further replies.

tacoman359

New Member
I live in Connecticut.

My house was burnt down by a 17 year old kid a while ago. The kid claimed to have accidentally flicked a cigar towards our porch on the same day, hours before the fire started. He said he was on our property cleaning up. This was not how the fire started, though. The fire started in the basement of our house.

Our family was on vacation and kids were partying at our house (without our permission or knowledge) while we were gone. I have a list of names of the majority of these kids. They have admitted to drinking alcohol at our house. None of them are 21 or older. I don't think any are even 18.

There was something stolen from the house (a pill bottle) and some of the kids admitting to driving our lawnmower (using the key) but the lawnmower not have the key in it. The kids are admitting to being on our property but not to being in our house. They were in our screen porch, which was locked. The police are saying that this does not place any of the kids in our house. The police say they can do absolutely nothing about it because the fire was supposedly an accident.

Several of the kids, including the one who burnt down our house, have lied under oath and the police are aware of this.

I'm hearing a lot of stories about our house but I cannot verify any of them.

What can we do? We would like to sue to regain the value of all our possessions and to make up for our suffering, but would that even be possible?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 
The biggest problem is evidence. You don't have any proof pointing to any one kid. So the only other real hope is a witness. Short of that you are pretty much out.

The other kids should not have been on your property, but just because they were on your property does not mean that they did or know who did start the fire.

Questions - how exactly did the fire start? Also what do you have to prove who admitted to what? (a police report, etc) If you have that you might file a case against each of those kid's parents. That might just get someone to drop dime on the guilty party. But it's not a guarantee. Keep in mind that unless the investigators have in fact ruled this arson, that the fire might have started independently of the kids partying. That's not likely, but it's possible.
 
Just to clarify, the kid confessed to flicking the cigar towards our house.

We have been offering a $10,000 reward on Facebook for anyone who gives enough information for the conviction and arrest of whoever did it, but we haven't gotten anything worthwhile from that.

We currently do not know how the fire started. The fire marshal determined it started in the basement, and that is all we know. There are police reports showing the kids lying under oath and showing one of the kids flicking the cigar and that a bunch of kids were on our property. The one little piece of evidence was given to the police, and they never fingerprinted it (if they even could). We have considered that the fire may have started by itself, but just considering how much the kids are lying seems to make me think that is not the case.

Also, can a 17 year old kid file bankruptcy? We have spoken to a lawyer and he told us that the most we could get from the families was $5,000 each from their homeowners because the kid would just file bankruptcy, but I was decently sure that a 17 year old could not file bankruptcy...

The detectives are leaving the case open for the time being, but the investigation has pretty much come to a halt.
 
He wouldn't be able to file until he is 18, however since he is still a minor I would sue the parents.

However, there is still a couple points I don't understand. What do the police have to show he lied under oath? Keep in mind he wouldn't be under oath unless he was actually in court or during a deposition. If he simply lied to the police, then that's not under oath. Also, how do they know he lied in the first place?

Keep in mind too that even if you successfully sue the parents or him for that matter, it does not mean you would ever collect. But having the suit filed against them might make someone talk. But keep in mind too that even the kid who started the fire may not realize he was the one who started it. If his cigarette butt was what actually started it, and he's claiming he simply flicked the butt, then it's not arson since he did not intentionally set the fire. It is carelessness, and wrong, and a few other things, but arson it's not. So to that end there would be no criminal case against him.
 
Well each of them gave a statement, and I believe they were under oath for it. I was when I gave my statement, anyways.

The one who burnt our house down apparently lied about what time he showed up to a party that happened later, the same day my house burnt down. I believe the police know this. Another person who was trespassing at my house lied about me giving him permission. He later told the police that he did not get permission from me.

We know that the cigar did not start the fire. We would still have a house if the cigar started it. The fire would have started outside, on our porch, and went up the side of the house and maybe burnt through the second floor. Besides, the fire marshal determined the fire started in the basement.

The kid obviously did not admit to burning our house down. He just admitted to flicking a cigar, which may or may not have burned it down.

I forgot to mention that the kid was also high on cough syrup while this all happened.

It looks like this will go nowhere in court at the moment. Thank you for all your help, though.
 
Have you filed a claim against your homeowner's insurance?

Did you have homeowner's insurance?

If you did, file a claim. You can't win this one, the way you're headed. The insurance company can.

Now, if you had no insurance, or were under insured; I see why you're pursuing this.

But, your efforts are futile. If the police could prosecute someone, they will. Apparently, all that exists is innuendo and speculation. That isn't evidence.
 
We have. Our insurance is not pursuing it. They contacted the police and the police refused to work with them.

We had a lot of uninsured antiques in the house, and that's why we want to go after this.
 
tacoman359 said:
We have. Our insurance is not pursuing it. They contacted the police and the police refused to work with them.

We had a lot of uninsured antiques in the house, and that's why we want to go after this.


Come on, even if you could prove "Burning Bobby" did the deed, do you think you'd ever collect a dime?
:no: way!!!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top