Mother, Daughter Charged with Arson of Stratford Home

A mother and daughter were reportedly charged Thursday for intentionally setting fire to the mother’s Stratford home in May 2011 and then collecting more than $340,000 in insurance money.

Luz Davila-Nieves, 60, and daughter Madeline Griffin, 41, each face charges of first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit first-degree arson, first-degree larceny and insurance fraud, the Connecticut Post reports.

Police told the paper they began to suspect foul play after finding food from the fridge in the daughter’s car in the garage. An investigation concluded that gasoline was poured throughout the house at 555 Light St. and ignited, police told the Post.

On May 28, 2001, the day of the fire, neighbors told Stratford Patch that they heard an explosion set the blaze. Damages were estimated to top $100,000, according to a Stratford fire official, who said only days after the fire that the cause was determined to be arson.

“A K9 unit from the state police sniffed out accelerants in several areas of the structure,” Stratford Fire Marshal Brian Lampart said at the time.

He then added, on the topic of arsons: “A lot of them you don’t solve. It’s a very hard crime to prove.”