Everything accuses her, according to the prosecution, yet Cindy is convinced that neighbors or dark forces were at work and set fire to her home five times in one day.
On October 27, 2021, five fires were started in different rooms at five different times in the same house located in Differdange. The 12e criminal chamber of the Luxembourg district court is seized of the latest event which occurred at 11:17 p.m. Everything converges on Cindy who occupied the premises with her husband and five children. The mother claims the house was haunted by demons, the devil or a ghost, and disputes any involvement.
“I never set a fire. I don’t know who put it. I would never have put my children in danger,” insisted Cindy, in tears on the stand yesterday afternoon. “I didn’t orchestrate all of this to get a new place to live.” Investigators and the prosecution accuse him of having had a specific idea behind his head. The house in question had been sold to new owners and the family had until the end of the month to move.
It’s not easy to find accommodation for seven people at an affordable price. “In the event of a fire, the municipality would have been obliged to intervene and the family would then not have found themselves on the street,” said the representative of the prosecution who does not believe in Cindy’s “conspiracy and absurd theories” to justify fire outbreaks. No more than “the fanciful antecedents” which occurred in the days preceding the events. “False alarms and staging” for which the police had put the house under surveillance.
Claiming to be threatened by a violent brother-in-law and unfriendly neighbors, the mother denounced intrusions into the house as well as vandalism and attempted burglaries at her home. However, no trace of intrusion could be noted by the police who, on guard in front of the house, did not see anyone other than members of the family enter or leave.
“Simple deduction”
Idem on October 27, 2021. The police investigation made it possible to determine that the fires were of human origin – and not supernatural as claimed by the defendant – and excluded the involvement of a third person. A hypothesis also addressed by the defendant during the investigation. “Cindy was present in the house each time the fire broke out,” underlined the magistrate before requesting a sentence of 6 years in prison with partial suspension and an appropriate fine against her for arson by communication, the fire not having not been put directly into the building.
“We were waiting for the eviction process to begin to request an additional six months before having to move,” Cindy explained between sobs. “We were supported by an association and we learned that we were in fourth position on the waiting list of the National Society for Cheap Housing (Editor’s note: SNHBM). Setting fire would have ruined all of this, all of our efforts over the years.” She added that she had also been looking for a spot at a campsite while she waited.
“A third party must necessarily have broken into the house, even if the police did not find any signs of break-in or other evidence to this effect,” insisted the defendant’s lawyer who recalled that her client “was here by simple deduction”. According to her, there was no material proof of his guilt. The criminal chamber must, if in doubt, acquit Cindy who “was waiting for help from the authorities for nine years”.
12,000 euros of damage
If, however, the court were to enter into sentencing, the defense lawyer asked it to show clemency towards his client and to take into consideration the desperate situation in which she found herself at the time. of the facts with which he is accused. Despite “the serious and consistent evidence” which allowed the prosecution to impute the facts to him, Cindy and her defense stuck to their positions.
The various outbreaks of fire did not cause any injuries and the damage was less. An expert estimated them at 7,500 euros. The owners had to pay 12,000 euros to repair them. They filed a civil suit and also claimed 6,000 euros in damages.
Pronouncement is set for February 9.
