E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Getty Images
Matthew and Madonna Badger embrace as the casket of one of their three daughters arrives for funeral services on Thursday in New York City.
The mother of three young daughters who perished in a devastating Christmas morning blaze urged hundreds of mourners Thursday to commit "pure acts of kindness" in tribute to her children.
"I want to remember my girls out loud," Madonna Badger said, adding that the way to keep their memory alive was through love.
"My girls are in my heart," Madonna Badger told more than 500 mourners at St. Thomas Church in Manhattan. "They're right here. And that's where they live now."
Badger broke down several times as she described each girl in turn — Lily, 9, and 7-year-old twins Sarah and Grace — then wailed as she followed their coffins out of the cavernous Gothic church. She was accompanied by her estranged husband, Matthew Badger, and a friend, Michael Borcina.
Borcina was with Madonna Badger and her family when the lethal fire tore through her Connecticut home. He walked behind the grieving parents as the coffins were brought out of the church.
Badger's parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, also died in the fire.
More than 800 people crowded inside St. Thomas Episcopal Church for the service "in thanksgiving for the lives." Among those at the service were fashion designers Calvin Klein and Vera Wang, rocker Lou Reed, and actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Madonna Badger is a fashion advertising executive who worked on Calvin Klein campaigns.
Authorities shut down three lanes of Fifth Avenue on the church's block in honor of the girls.
Badger said that she always used to wonder what a parent would do if her children died first. She said she couldn't imagine going on to live. "But here I am," she told the crowd.
She also said that her daughter Lily wondered how she would die, and that she'd told her daughter she didn't know because, "life is a mystery." And she said daughter Grace worried "a thousand times" that she would die before her mom.
Her mother reassured her that would never happen.
Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright performed a haunting a cappella version of "Over the Rainbow" during the service, which also featured hymns sung by St. Thomas' all-male choir.
Read complete coverage at NBCConnecticut.com
Santa Claus
St. Thomas Episcopal Church was less than a five-minute walk from the department store Saks Fifth Avenue, where the children's grandfather, Lomer Johnson, played Santa Claus in the days before the fire.
A private service was held later at Woodlawn Cemetery for the girls and their grandparents.
Badger and Borcina were the only survivors of the fire, which was attributed to a bag of smoldering ash and embers left in a first-floor mudroom.
Borcina is believed to have moved the ashes out of the fireplace because the girls wanted to make sure that Santa Claus could come through the chimney.
All died of smoke inhalation. Lomer Johnson also suffered blunt head and neck trauma, which resulted from a fall or being hit by an object.
One of the girls, found dead just inside a window, had been placed on a pile of books, apparently so Johnson could reach in and grab her after he jumped out. Instead, authorities say, he fell through the roof.
Stamford police were helping fire officials investigate the blaze. Police said Monday officials want to know if there were smoke alarms, the status of renovation work in the house and whether the contractor had permits.
The issue of permits could figure in the investigation because the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection has said that neither Borcina nor his company, Tiberias Construction Inc., was registered to perform home improvement work in Connecticut.
A foundation has been developed in the girls' honor, called The Other 364 Foundation, "whose mission is to champion compassion every day of the year," according to a statement on badgerandwinters.com.
Checks may be made out to:
The Other 364 Foundation
c/o Badger & Winters Group
135 Fifth Avenue 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10010
Notes may be sent to love@badgerfamilysupport.com.
WNBC's Andrew Siff, NBCConnecticut.com and msnbc.com's Sevil Omer contributed to this report, as did The Associated Press.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. I moved to Moreno Valley, CA and the first thing I noticed in my new house was a pair of guns that looked like REAL GUNS. The kids were hurting each other with them. DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY GOT THESE GUNS??? Answer: From an Ice Cream Truck Driver selling Ice Cream and pellet guns. I called the police and they want me to file a report but they have banker hours and I could not go the police department to file a report. So, I threw out the guns in my Trash can, waited for the trash truck to come and dump them. The problem has nothing to do with the child when adults like an Ice Cream man sells something more than just Ice Cream. My kids are safe and I have no more guns in the house.
Uhm... This is a story about three kids who died in a house fire. What do guns have to do with anything? Because they emptied the fireplace ashes into a bag that caught fire, guns are bad?
How about parents actually taking responsibility for their kids and educate them on weapons!!
Think you posted on the wrong article....
Huh???
Let's hope so Life Long....
Note: I'm a life long Packer fan from the North East...
Am I on drugs, or did I miss something here??
@Ed,
What the hell are you talking about???
u r on drugs and u did miss everything.
I'm thinking you are maybe a ftard?
Are they going to charge the contractor for leaving the smothering ashes in the mudroom?
More likely they want to know about the contractor because they want to know the status of any smoke detectors in the home and whether they were working/not working, and probably if the status of the smoke detectors had anything to do with the ongoing renovation. Just a guess though.
A terrible tragedy. I can't imagine losing one of my children, much less all three! And her parents at the same time. My prayers are with her and the rest of the family.
This is the absolutely the worst horror that can happen to any parent...to lose all your children on Christmas Day.
I believe you mean "smoldering" ashes. I only hope people have learned something from this tragedy. The ashes should have been put in a metal container away from any combustibles outdoors and then doused thoroughly with water to eliminate any possibility of fire.
I kind of doubt the contractor emptied the ashes from the fireplace so that Santa could come down the chimney. Much more likely it was a family member.
It possibly could have been one of the daughters who emptied the ashes. Children are so excited about Santa visiting them at Christmas, and being a young child maybe she thought that Santa wouldn't come because the ashes in the fireplace were too hot. Also, they don't have the life experience to consider the consequences of their actions like putting smoldering ashes into a bag. Either way, whoever it was that emptied those ashes, it was a mistake which caused a needless tragedy for this family.
I accidentally clicked the vote up key, Up.
Up, there was a previous article that stated that a family friend had dumped the hot ashes in a paper bag. The only non-blood relative human being in the house was the boyfriend/contractor of the mom.
.
As far as the contractor, he was a friend of the mom. The earliest articles that came out cited neighbors who saw him running from the home in his boxer shorts. Right or wrong, I think a lot of folks have concluded that she'd started a relationship with the contractor...she and her husband were separated at the time.
The oldest of the 3 girls was only 9. As a mom, I never let my kids empty out the fireplace. I completely believe the story of how the fire started. It makes sense that at least her twins would have wanted to make sure Santa didn't get burned!
I don't know what the construction laws are Connecticut. In my state, a homeowner can act as the "general contractor" and hire subs to do the various jobs. There's been a lot of speculation as to whether or not her contractor friend who also survived the fire was acting as a true contractor or only "advising" her.
I really hope that the final report reflects that smoke detectors were in the home and operational as I can't even imagine adding to the family's grief if they realize how easily the trajedy could have been prevented if it turns out that there were no smoke detectors. There's no excuse for NOT having them installed, especially knowing that there she was at the very least, consulting with a contractor. One of the most dangerous fire risks occurs during construction and remodeling.
What a very sad story all the way around.
I believe the "contractor" was the woman's boyfriend.
An absolute tragedy. Have investigators determined the cause yet?
nascarlifer,
You might try reading the article again???? Or did you read it at all???
Dano be nice. Or are you the troll today?
Reading is fundamental.
Retired high school teacher? Gym?
This happen on Christmas day, and this past Monday officials are trying to find out if there were Fire detectors in the House? I would have thought the Contractor who was caught in the Fire would have a good idea if there were any, so many things about this sad story just don't seem right.
If I recall correctly the house was razed shortly after the fire, which caught me by surprise because I would have thought the scene would have been protected for an inspection of some sort which would reval if there were in fact smoke detectors in the house.
At any rate this is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the family. I cannot imagine a parent having to bury their child. Hug your kids a little tighter tonight.
This story doesn't add up.
May I offer my most heart felt condolences Mr. & Mrs. Badger on your very tragic loss :(
There was another story posting about a kid that was (sadly) killed because he had a pellet gun. I think the comment postings might have been posted to the wrong page. This is one of the saddest stories I heard in a long time. That pic of the parents mopurning brought tears to my eyes. Any death is bad, but on the holidays, man. I have no words. Just sad. God bless the family of the lost ones. And please bless the souls of kids and grand parents. I understand the poor girls were trying to clean the chimney of ash. But, I am a little confused about how the house caught on fire. How the grandfather fall through the roof?
The ashes were collected in a paper bag and left in the mudroom of the home. The hot ashes ignited the bag, and the fire spread throughout the house. The grandfather fell through the porch roof because it had been weakened by the fire. He had climbed onto the roof in an attempt to lift the little granddaughter through the window and outside to safety.
This is just sad. I will keep these girls and their mother in my thoughts. Very much breaks my heart.
The previous MSN story on this tragedy stated that a non-family overnight guest (mom's boyfriend/contractor was the only non-family person in the house overnight) had dumped the ashes in a paper bag in the middle of the night.
The previous MSN article also stated that the house was demolished THE VERY NEXT DAY.
Not much evidence left on the scene for a thorough investigation.
May they rest in peace. I couldn't begin to imagine loseing my own two girls who are the same ages. My heart aches for these parents.
I am so sad for this family and keeping them in my prayers.
As a mom, I can't imagine losing my child. To lose three young children in a house fire, along with their grandparents, is a pain I can't begin to comprehend. I just have to wonder if it was the children who put the bag of ashes in the mudroom, or did one of the grandparents help? Either way, lives were lost, lives have been changed forever, and placing blame won't change things one bit.
I was wondering when this "great" kid's graduation picture was going to be shown. But that's right, he is a 15 year old in 8th grade . That graduation picture was likely never going to happen even if he was not shot.
Next their gonna say he was very close to discovery a cure for cancer!
Give me a break he was a disturb person and likely a up and coming criminal.
wrong tacky post under wrong article. Get it straight, please
To Hoopla Harry: The young man at 15 was a year or two older than most eighth-graders, but that does not mean he was a bad kid or had a problem. With curriculum becoming more difficult, more and more children are starting kindergarten at a later age, and this makes them one or two years older than most of the children in the class. A significant number of youngsters this age will do stupid things because they are too immature and ignorant to anticipate consequences. Still others think they will not be caught by the authorities, and they believe they are immune to any bad outcome of a situation. There are some who believe the rules are for "everybody else" and not for themselves. I believe the police should have been able to disarm a minor child without firing a shot, and I believe the police were totally out of line. My heart goes out to the parents, friends, and other loved ones of this young man. This tragedy never should have happened, but it did happen at the Cummings School in Brownsville, Texas.
This is a very upsetting situation. I cannot for the life of me imagine what I would do if anything happened to my children. That being said it is rather frustrating to see this particular case get such publicity and be kept in the public eye to such a priority. Children are killed in house fires every day. Just last week in Pittsburgh a mother two small children, I believe a 7 yr old twin and his ten year old brother were killed in a fire. Of course they were not wealthy Caucasian family so the police did not block off the road for their funeral, nor did it make national headlines. Last year in Pittsburgh a 4 children were killed in a house fire. Same situation, no national news, no keeping it in the headlines.
As I said this is a horrible and devastating tragedy, but how is is more so than the hundreds of other fires and deaths each day. Is it because it happened on Christmas? That isn't exactly rare either.
Did you really have to post a picture of these poor, grieving parents???? To me, this is such a private moment. You imposed on that moment and should feel ashamed to have put this in the article.
May God keep their three children in His arms until the day He sees fit to reunite them. May He also do the same for the grandparents.
May God give strength and comfort to the family and friends left behind.
:~(
I haven't seen earlier stories on this. How did the mom and her boyfriend escape?
This whole story confuses me...why would you leave hot ashes in a house?? Obviously it will start something on fire. I also thought it was weird that the house was torn down the very next day...sounds like a cover up. Then the contractor/boyfriend stands behind her at the funeral and places his hand on her shoulder for support. If I was her husband I would punch him in the face.
JMHB, I have to agree with you there. In reality the original article said it was a guest who put the ashes in the mudroom. It did not say the contractor boyfriend. But you have to consider this. Why did someone put in a paperbag or trash with paper in it. Any idiot would know if their is embers, it would need to go outside and not in a mudroom.
It doesn't say that in this article I guess (that it was the contrctor) I think I had heard that on the news or read it some where else. It has been stated though that it was the contractor/boyfriend. It just seems weird to me, thats all.
Actually, it does say in the article that boricina had removed the ashes. sorry for your loss as well. i am a parent myself and it makes me sick to even think of the pain that would be endured with losing a child.
It is very hard to lose a child. Each day doesn't go by that you wonder where he or she would be if they had not been taken away by the Lord. WHen you lose a spouse you have the same feeling. In tradegy like this, it will be always the hardest to get through the holidays. Only time will ease all that pain, but it is never an easy road to get down. I have been there.
I can not understand anyone leaving ashes in a mud room even if you think they are out. You clean the fireplace in the a.m. and then take it outside. A preventable tragedy.
Someone enlighten me and others, and help avoid similar tragedies: We know not to put hot ashes/embers in or near something flammable, but these are not the first people to have tragically assumed that the remains of a fire had cooled. Say you've burned three good-sized logs in the average grate. Without stirring or wetting them, how long before those ashes and hot pieces of wood are cold?
Someone enlighten me and others, and help avoid similar tragedies: We know not to put hot ashes/embers in or near something flammable, but these are not the first people to have tragically assumed that the remains of a fire had cooled. Say you've burned three good-sized logs in the average grate. Without stirring or wetting them, how long before those ashes and hot pieces of wood are cold?
Without stirring/wetting them, or putting your hand over them? It could take 72 hrs [3 days, or more]. Depends on what kind of wood [hard, or soft...dry, or still a bit green/wet]. Embers should always be treated like a gun. You never assume that it's [the gun] not loaded, and likewise.....you always assume that they're [the embers] still hot.
I lost a Neice and two nephews, all under 3 1/2, to a dryer fire 4 years ago.
The horror that a family goes through is unimaginable.
Speak well of this family, posters, because it could happen anybody.
This story doesn't add up....Boyfriend and Badger escapes....everyone else perishes...mmmmm. How can a contractor not know to deposit ashes in a metal can?! This is basic. The whole thing is a real tragedy. I find the whole funeral thing odd also after going through a major tragedy myself. Amazing the mom of 3 little children that were just lost in a massive fire along with her parents can stand and give a eulogy stone faced...a little odd...Along with knocking the house down a day after! There is more to this story!!
Nancy. Have you ever stood at an open casket funeral of three toddlers? I have. There's this thing called shock. You just become numb, and later when it wears off is the worst feeling in the world.
Your lack of compassion makes me ill.
Not to mention the story never said she spoke with a "stone cold" look on her face. It said she broke down a a few times while talking about her children. Also, kids and older people can't handle smoke near as well as just a mid-age adult, that may be why they escaped... Don't throw your "know-it-all" attitude in this just to get attention and make it sound like you know whats going on, you know absolutely no more about the story than anyone else here.
This could have possibly been avoided if their smoke detectors worked..how sad..
This is an undescribably terrible tragedy.
I couldn't help thinking though - would this have been national news and would New York authorities have"shut down three lanes of Fifth Avenue on the church's block in honor of the girls" if the they had not been the white children of someone rich and (semi)famous (mother is fashion designer).
I assume your question is rhetorical.
If it was not rhetorical, the answer is simple: "Of course not! It wouldn't have been regional news. And no traffic lanes would have been closed."
Hope that helps.
It still would've been a tragedy,but thanks for your rainbow insight.I can't help thinking though--you are a ftard.Go make some bastard babies