The fire broke out in Brian Aldo Baldie and Ron Pelletier’s small house in Canaan, Maine on September 21. They weren’t home at the time, but their seven cats and dogs were, and they all perished in the blaze.
“Why would somebody break into somebody’s house, take a little bit of money, a little bit of jewelry and then set the house on fire with the animals in there?” 63-year-old Baldie tells the Portland Press Herald. “It doesn’t make any sense. It would have to be a hate crime.”
Related: Vandal Paints “Die F-g” On The Side Of Newlywed’s Jeep
Police ultimately determined the fire was arson. But they stopped short of saying it was a hate crime.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Last week, the couple’s former neighbor, Matthew Short of Canaan, was indicted on charges of arson, burglary and aggravated cruelty to animals in connection with the conflagration.
He told police he was upset because the men had stolen $150 from him, an allegation Baldie and Pelletier call “crazy.” They say they barely knew Short, and according to an acquaintance of Short’s, he “didn’t like the guys based on their sexuality.”
Related: Arson Suspected In Blaze That Destroyed Gay-Inclusive OH Church
But Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland maintains that “the sexual orientation of anyone involved has not been a focus of the investigation.”
Nearly eight months after losing everything, the couple is now living in a new apartment and are slowly rebuilding their animal family, adopting two new cats and a dog. Though nightmarish visions of their previous pets, terrified and yelping for help as they burned to death in a raging fire, still haunt them.
“(The fire) kind of put me somewhere else,”Pelletier explains. “I don’t trust anymore. I lock my doors.”
“When I hear a dog barking, I think of the dogs (that died in the fire),” he continues. “When I hear a fire engine, I think of that. It just puts stuff in my life that was never there before.”
Related: Massive Blaze Rips Through Fire Island Destroying Several Gay Landmarks
Stache
I’m sure their sexuality had everything to do with it. The police need to interview acquaintances of Short.
onthemark
Scary.
Tackle
Terrible! Just a nightmare..
Green4Clover
My heart goes out to them. I know how much they must have loved thier animals. I hope one day they find peace. Each day with your furrbaby is a gift.
Sluggo2007
There’s a special place in Hell for people that hurt and abuse animals.