(Nov. 9) - Three teenagers have been arrested in the arson murder of a 59-year-old grandmother who died in a house fire started when a lit firecracker was thrust through her letterbox, British media reported Monday.
Mary Fox died Nov. 5 in her home in Bodmin, Cornwall, southwestern England, after helping her 17-year-old son, Raum, to safety through a second-floor window, the media reports said. Raum, who reportedly has learning disabilities, ran to a neighbor’s home for help, but by the time firefighters arrived, it was too late to save his mother.
Fox may have stayed behind to try to save her cat, neighbors said.
The fire was started by a firework thrown through Fox's letter slot on Bonfire Night -- when fires are lighted and dummies called "guys" burned to commemorate the 1605 arrest of Guy Fawkes, a Catholic who plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament when the Protestant King James I and most of the royal family were inside.
The three teens, an 18-year-old man and two 17-year-old boys, were arrested on suspicion of murder, the BBC said. The Daily Mail said the three suspects were being questioned after local residents identified them on social networking sites including Facebook.
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News That Stunned Us
A Preventable Crime? Prosecutors asked that a judge lock up Isaiah M.K. Kalebu, who was out on bail pending trial for charges he threatened to kill his mother, after a suspicious fire at his aunt's house killed two people. Six days later, on July 19, authorities say Kalebu stabbed a 39-year-old woman to death. For that alleged crime, a judge set the bail at $10 million on July 25.
Seattle Police Department / AP
Seattle Police Department / AP
One neighbor told the Mail the suspects were laughing and making sarcastic comments outside the house as it burned.
"The three youngsters were seen outside the house as it was burning, shouting, 'Shame, shame, shame,’'" said Gary Breslin, 41. "The flames were shooting out from the front door two feet in the air."
Police did not release the suspects' names, but
The Times of London said they were all from Bodmin.
The BBC said police were downplaying reports that Raum Fox had been bullied by local youths because of his learning disabilities and that his mother may have also been harassed. Police said the Fox family had not reported any problems.
In addition to Raum, Fox had eight other children, all grown, and a number of grandchildren. The family issued a statement thanking firefighters for trying to save their mother.
"Our mum devoted her life to us, her nine children, and went without herself to provide the best that she could for us," they said in a statement released to British media.
"She was at times, shall we say, eccentric; she had a sense of humor and was loving and caring," the statement said. "She never did anything to hurt anyone and never would. She would give her last penny to help those in less fortunate circumstances than herself."
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