Aurora family of 5-year-old kid who died blames

kid's feet (Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash)

An Aurora-based family of a 5-year-old kid who died from an apartment fire recently expressed hatred towards their neighbor. This was after investigators showed that the neighbor purposely set the place on fire.

Aurora Apartment Fire

On Monday, Jan. 24, Bella Terra Apartments on East Evans Avenue in Aurora was caught in a massive fire. As reported via The Denver Channel, the fire started on the first floor of the building.

Unfortunately, the fire spread out to the Salmeron family's unit. The residents on that apartment unit were Edlyn Salmeron and her five-year-old kid Abner Salmeron-Bautista Jr. As the fire progressed, Edlyn immediately woke up and got her son ready, as narrated by her sister and Abner's auntie, Amairani Ramirez.

As Edlyn and Abner tried to get out of the burning house, the kid reportedly got lost in the way. As the mother looked for him, Edlyn saw that the stairs were already engulfed with fire. Sadly, Edlyn was not able to find her son anymore.

The firefighters suddenly went to rescue and finally found Abner's body. They reportedly did CPR and tried their best to be able to save the child, but it was too late. On that Monday morning, the five-year-old kid was pronounced dead.

'God Has a Plan for her, But She Needs to Suffer'

As per the Aurora Police's initial investigation, the fire was believed to be purposely ignited by one of Salmeron's neighbors. A 37-year-old woman named Alondra Michel allegedly started the fire in line with a domestic violence incident in the same building.

Michel has not yet explained her side of the claims, but the court has already filed charges against her. Such charges include murder, attempted murder, arson, and many more.

In her interview with the Denver Channel, Ramirez, Abner's auntie, said that she is angry and pissed with the suspect. She expressed that she has a rage burning inside her that she does not know what to do with.

In her interview, Ramirez told Michel, "I don't wish bad on her or anything like that. God has a plan for her. But she needs to suffer. She needs to suffer."

As a way of farewell to her nephew, Ramirez described Abner as a "ray of sunshine" and "light of the house" to their family.

Meanwhile, a family friend named Celene Esteves-Barraza created a GoFundMe page to help with the Salmeron family's expenses. She described in that post what happened to the family and why everyone needs their help.

Those who cannot send financial aid to the family are just encouraged to share the post for many people to see it. As of this writing, the GoFundMe page has already raised over $13,000, with the goal of at least $20,000.

Colorado Fire

Before the year ended in 2021, a massive wildfire almost engulfed the entire suburban areas across Denver and Boulder. New York Times reported that about 6,200-acres of land were damaged, and more than 30,000 residents sought evacuation.

A 69-year-old man from Boulder was the only one confirmed to have died in the devastating fire.