Father Of Girls Killed In 2011 Christmas Day Fire Dies; Charity Says
A charity started by a man whose three daughters were killed in a Connecticut fire on Christmas morning in 2011 says he has died at the age of 51.
Watch CBS News
A charity started by a man whose three daughters were killed in a Connecticut fire on Christmas morning in 2011 says he has died at the age of 51.
Michael Borcina's lawyer said Thursday that Borcina will cooperate in the lawsuit filed by the children's father, Matthew Badger.
On Christmas Day in 2011, fire ravaged Madonna Badger's home in Stamford, Connecticut. Her three little girls -- 9-year-old Lily, and 7-year-old twins Sarah and Grace -- became trapped and died. Her parents also died in the inferno.
The fire in Stamford killed 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah Badger, 9-year-old Lily Badger, and their maternal grandparents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson.
Clutching a bouquet of white flowers, smiling from ear to ear, Badger proves life can go on, even after enduring the unimaginable.
In a Vogue magazine article, Madonna Badger details how she continues to cope with the loss of her 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah, 9-year-old Lily and her parents.
The city of Stamford has since passed a law requiring working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors for every home in the city.
Badger said that the bag of ashes didn't seem dangerous because her boyfriend, Michael Borcina, ran his hands over them before putting them on top of a plastic bin in a mudroom.
In the report that was released Friday online, Stamford State's Attorney David Cohen called the blaze "an inexplicable accident."
The mother of the three children killed in a Christmas morning fire has filed a notice of intent to sue the city of Stamford, WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported. Her parents were also killed in the fire.
Utica First Insurance Co. argues in a lawsuit filed this week in New York that Michael Borcina misrepresented the number of employees with his company, Tiberias Construction, its sales and payroll, and size and type of work performed.
It's difficult for Matthew Badger to deal with the loss of his three darling daughters, but he's turning his heartbreak into hope by helping other young children.
Three sisters and their grandparents died in the fire. The girls' mother, Madonna Badger and her boyfriend Michael Borcina, survived. Investigators determined the fire was started by improperly discarded fireplace embers.
In January, officials in Connecticut were scrutinizing the circumstances of the blaze, trying to determine if it was just a horrible accident or a crime.
Was it just a horrible accident, or a crime? That's what police and prosecutors were trying to figure out Friday in Connecticut as they began putting the horrendous Christmas Day fire under a legal microscope.
As Stamford police investigate, they're trying to answer a key question: were battery-operated smoke alarms and several fire extinguishers removed from the home sometime before the fire?
Michael Borcina and homeowner Madonna Badger were the only survivors of the blaze.
Police and fire officials say they agreed to give Madonna Badger and Michael Borcina time to mourn the loss of Badger's daughters and parents. Police Capt. Richard Conklin says, "But now we're moving ahead on that.''
Lomer and Pauline Johnson are being honored at a memorial service in Louisville, Kentucky. Lomer worked there as a safety chief for a liquor company until he retired.
Madonna and Matthew Badger, the girls' father, held hands and cried as they watched the caskets carrying the remains of their three daughters get carried into St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Manhattan.
Madonna Badger, who lost her three daughters and both parents in the Christmas morning fire in Stamford, Conn., attended Wednesday's wake, along with the girls' father and the only other survivor of the tragedy, Badger's contractor.
Badger's parents Lomer and Pauline Johnson and daughters Lily, Grace and Sarah were all killed in a Christmas Day blaze.
Madonna Badger's three daughters and their grandparents all died in a Christmas Day blaze at her Stamford home, which was being renovated.
The family of the victims who died in the tragic Christmas day fire in Stamford are reaching out to the countless strangers who have been sending their condolences.
This morning the medical examiner's office released an autopsy report on the victims -- whose deaths were ruled accidental.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks received a warm welcome from the faithful in the pews at St. Patrick's Cathedral as he presided over his first Mass Sunday.
Salman Rushdie has come to terms with the attempt on his life the only way he knows: by writing a book about it, "Knife." He detailed the experience in his first television interview since the attack.
Team USA defended its Olympic figure skating team event gold medal on Sunday after Ilia "Quad God" ushered the team to victory at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots Sunday to win the 2026 Super Bowl.
NYU stands alone atop the NCAA Division III women's basketball record book with 82 consecutive victories.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks received a warm welcome from the faithful in the pews at St. Patrick's Cathedral as he presided over his first Mass Sunday.
Con Ed blamed the Bushwick power outage on snow and road salt mixing together and seeping into its ground equipment.
A Cold Weather Advisory is in place through 10 a.m. on Monday for the entire Tri-State Area. As a result, a First Alert Weather Day will be in play for at least part of the day.
New York City officials are expanding efforts to make sure all residents stay safe during Saturday night's dangerously cold conditions.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued an executive order he says will protect New Yorkers from "abusive immigration enforcement" by the Trump administration.
A Cold Weather Advisory is in place through 10 a.m. on Monday for the entire Tri-State Area. As a result, a First Alert Weather Day will be in play for at least part of the day.
A Connecticut man was arrested after allegedly driving drunk in the Bronx and hitting pedestrians on a sidewalk Friday.
Parts of New York and Connecticut could see snow Friday into Saturday. A First Alert Weather Day is in effect for the weekend due to dangerously cold temperatures.
Bundle up — New York City and the Tri-State Area's stretch of dangerously cold weather continues, and it's sticking around longer than anyone would like.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were pivotal during America's birth. This year, as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday, CBS News New York is highlighting the hidden history in our own back yard.
A Cold Weather Advisory is in place through 10 a.m. on Monday for the entire Tri-State Area. As a result, a First Alert Weather Day will be in play for at least part of the day.
New York City and the Tri-State Area are preparing for what is expected to be the coldest weather of the season so far this weekend.
The Democratic primary race for the Congressional seat vacated by Gov. Mikie Sherrill is too close to call.
Gateway Tunnel construction may resume after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump's funding freeze for New York and New Jersey's $16 billion infrastructure project.
The entire Tri-State Area will be under an Extreme Cold Warning as dangerously cold temperatures settle in, along with some snow.
A Cold Weather Advisory is in place through 10 a.m. on Monday for the entire Tri-State Area. As a result, a First Alert Weather Day will be in play for at least part of the day.
A Long Island man accused of driving drunk and killing a Nassau County police officer appeared in court Friday. Matthew Smith entered a not guilty plea.
The entire Tri-State Area will be under an Extreme Cold Warning as dangerously cold temperatures settle in, along with some snow.
The goal is to get patients drunk and high at a new research lab on the border of Nassau County and Queens.
The Patchogue-Medford School District said in a letter that the Suffolk County Department of Health alerted them about an infectious person in the school community.
President Trump criticized Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess after he and other American athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics shared their thoughts on U.S. politics.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to endorse Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy's grandson, a source familiar confirmed to CBS News.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued an executive order he says will protect New Yorkers from "abusive immigration enforcement" by the Trump administration.
President Trump late Friday addressed a video posted to his social media account that included a racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, telling reporters he didn't see the part that showed the former president and first lady.
New York City and the Tri-State Area are preparing for what is expected to be the coldest weather of the season so far this weekend.
Mount Sinai Health System and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield failed to reach a contract agreement by Dec. 31, which means about 9,000 physicians are no longer considered in-network.
Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery is set to become the first on the East Coast to offer human composting.
The goal is to get patients drunk and high at a new research lab on the border of Nassau County and Queens.
The Patchogue-Medford School District said in a letter that the Suffolk County Department of Health alerted them about an infectious person in the school community.
Day 25 of the New York City nurses strike saw protests, arrests and some progress in the negotiations.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
Bad Bunny took the stage at halftime for the 2026 Super Bowl. Here's who else performed at Super Bowl 60.
Two-for-one tickets are returning for New York City's Off-Broadway Week.
The sheriff says the note was sent to a local Arizona news station, which agreed not to report on it, following the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Team USA defended its Olympic figure skating team event gold medal on Sunday after Ilia "Quad God" ushered the team to victory at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots Sunday to win the 2026 Super Bowl.
NYU stands alone atop the NCAA Division III women's basketball record book with 82 consecutive victories.
Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and Josh Hart added 19 to help the New York Knicks beat the cold-shooting Boston Celtics 111-89 on Sunday.
President Trump criticized Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess after he and other American athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics shared their thoughts on U.S. politics.
After their building managers were arrested on fraud charges, tenants in Queens say their apartments were left in chaos.
Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture centennial anniversary began last year, and 2026 marks 100 years since the library became owner of its namesake's personal collection, making it a full-fledged research center.
Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery is set to become the first on the East Coast to offer human composting.
Dozens of middle school girls celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day at the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center on Wednesday.
A group of senior dancers aged 70 and up shine on stage at the Korean Community Services' center in Queens. They practice in Flushing twice a week and perform at events citywide.
The Halloween tradition strolled through Manhattan's East Village on Sunday, with furry friends dressed in colorful costumes.
A suspect was taken into custody after an attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1 in which there were 15 people and a dog who were victims. The suspect threw Molotov cocktails that burned some of the victims, who were part of a march for Israeli hostages.
A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.
Dogs got decked out for the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York City's East Village on Saturday.
Cosplayers flooded New York City's Javits Center in October 2024 for the annual New York Comic Con convention.
CBS News New York's Vanessa Murdock says temperatures will push 30 degrees on Monday afternoon and the mid-30s on Tuesday, with even warmer conditions later in the week.
CBS News New York's Lisa Rozner spoke with her, as well as two young women whose fathers were murdered that day in Australia.
Investigators hope to discover where the mother of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie is and who may have abducted her. CBS News New York's Andres Gutierrez reports.
The temperatures are turning sidewalks into wind tunnels, rivers into ice fields, and making everyday errands challenging. CBS News New York's Naveen Dhaliwal reports.
A little less than 350 customers were still without service late Sunday night during one of the coldest snaps in New York City in a few years. CBS News New York's Naomi Ruchim reports.
