Six Months Later And Still No Arrest in Devastating Fire

It’s been six months since someone set fire to a multi-family home in Willimantic and there are still no arrests.  Now, the husband of a woman critically injured in the ordeal is once again speaking out in the hopes that someone will come forward with information about the crime.

The charred building on South Street stands as a reminder of the horror that unfolded there in the middle of the night back on August 7, 2012.

"It could have easily been both of us dead in there.  Arson is a terrible, terrible crime," said David Marshall in a Skype interview from New Zealand.

Marshall, a researcher at the University of Connecticut, barely escaped the burning building.

His wife, Kathy Hill, who is also a UConn researcher, was pulled from the building by firefighters.  She's still struggling to recover and has been moved to a rehabilitation center in her native New Zealand.

"She can't communicate anything clearly to us yet and she still can't really control anything she wants to do, her arms.  She still clearly can't blink in response to commands or anything and yet she reacts a lot emotionally and otherwise like she probably understands what we're saying," said Marshall.

Police quickly determined the fire was intentionally set, however they have been unable to solve the case.

"It's just very frustrating because there is an arsonist on the loose and if a person can do it to the building behind me then everybody's at risk," said Kathy Dubay, the property manager of the building.

For now, family and friends cherish the slow progress Hill is making and hold out hope that she'll make a full recovery.

"I think about sometimes the fact that the person who did this is out there, but this is so overwhelming.  It's very difficult to think about much else other than the situation Kathy is in," said Marshall.

"Just hope that somebody comes forward for an arrest.  It's a horrible crime," said Dubay.

A $2500 reward remains in effect for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
 

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