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Elizabeth Cunningham confronts her roommate Eric Buckley at the scene of a fire that destroyed their home on Nov. 14. Buckley was later arrested for arson, and allegedly admitted starting the fire over a failed relationship with Cunningham, according to an affidavit by State Fire Marshal’s Office Investigator Mary MacMaster. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
By Dominik Lobkowicz
A Waldoboro man arrested for arson allegedly admitted starting the fire to clean a cat box and later recanted, claiming it was an attempt to take his own
life over a failed relationship.
Eric Buckley, 34, was arrested Nov. 22 for arson after allegedly setting a fire that destroyed the mobile home he, a woman, and her son lived in,
according to a release from Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.
Waldoboro Fire Department was paged out to the fire just before 11:20 a.m. on Nov. 14.
Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer said previously very little fire was showing on the front side of the trailer when he first arrived, but “significant fire” was
showing on the back side.
Assisted at the scene by departments from Warren and Union, the firefighters knocked down the flames but the structure was a total loss, according to
Smeltzer.
Buckley lived in the home with Elizabeth Cunningham and her son, Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde said previously.
According an affidavit from State Fire Marshal’s Office Investigator Mary MacMaster, both Buckley and Cunningham allegedly said they had been in a
relationship together but it had recently ended.
Cunningham allegedly confirmed her relationship with Buckley was over, she had asked him to move out and he refused, so she had been actively looking for
a place to live with her son, according to the affidavit.
There had been no violence in their relationship, she allegedly said.
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Eric Buckley |
Allegedly, Buckley first admitted to Smeltzer he started the fire in an attempt to clean a cat box, and then told MacMaster he put the cat box in the
bathtub, poured charcoal lighter fluid into and ignited it with a wood match, according to the affidavit.
The fire got out of control, and Buckley attempted to put it out with a teapot full of water before running to the opposite end of the home and hollering
for help, he allegedly told MacMaster.
According to McCausland’s release, neighbor Jacob Soule, 14 noticed the fire and helped Buckley escape out a bedroom window. Soule then called 911 to
report the fire and unleashed the family dog from the outside of the mobile home.
The bathtub in the mobile home had melted into the floor, and a piece of red plastic was melted into the bathtub – plastic consistent with the home
owner’s identification of the cat box, according to MacMaster’s affidavit.
“The fire damage is consistent with the tenant’s description of a cat box being placed in the bathtub and ignited with an ignitable liquid,” she
wrote.
Buckley allegedly recanted on his explanation of why he started the fire, however, according to the affidavit.
In a later interview with other investigators, Buckley allegedly admitted to setting the fire in an attempt to take his own life over the ending of his
relationship with Cunningham and her having a new boyfriend, according to MacMaster’s affidavit.
He allegedly told the investigators he set the fire and laid on the living room floor, running to the end of the home to escape when the heat became
unbearable.
Buckley’s eyeglasses were damaged by the fire and his hair was singed on the top and back of his head, according to MacMaster’s affidavit.
A Warren firefighter, Jerrad Dinsmore, 19, was transported to Pen Bay Medical Center for weakness and heat exhaustion and was treated and released within
about three hours, MacMaster wrote.
Buckley was arrested for the alleged arson, a Class A crime, just after noon on Nov. 22 as upon his release from the Togus Veterans Affairs Medical
Center and taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail, according to McCausland’s release.
According to the website of the Office of the Maine Attorney General, Class A crimes are punishable by up to 30 years incarceration and a $50,000
fine.
Buckley will undergo a “bed to bed transfer” back to Togus, jail personnel said Nov. 25. The transfer means Buckley will be released on bail to attend a
treatment program at the medical center but will be required to return to the jail once the program is complete, according to Lincoln County Superior
Court personnel.
