Attorney: Father of Badger girls killed in 2011 Christmas fire still seeking truth

An empty lot sits vacant at the end of Shippan Avenue in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. The lot is all that remains after a fire swept through a house there and killed three children and two adults on Christmas Day in 2011. less An empty lot sits vacant at the end of Shippan Avenue in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. The lot is all that remains after a fire swept through a house there and killed three children and two adults ... more Photo: Jason Rearick Buy photo Photo: Jason Rearick Image 1 of / 144 Caption Close Attorney: Father of Badger girls killed in 2011 Christmas fire still seeking truth 1 / 144 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — The attorney for the father of three girls killed in the infamous Christmas Day house fire at Shippan Point said his client remains on a mission for the truth as it was revealed Monday his former wife’s boyfriend claimed he had lied to police about what happened.

Contractor Michael Borcina said during a lawsuit deposition that it was his former girlfriend, Madonna Badger, who placed a bag of fireplace ashes in a mudroom hours before the fire started — changing his story from what he told police after the deadly incident occurred in 2011. Authorities have blamed the ashes for sparking the blaze that destroyed the $1.7 million Shippan Avenue home and killed Madonna Badger’s children, as well as her parents.

“To spare her from carrying the burden that maybe she had done something to hurt her family,” Borcina said in the deposition, a copy of which was provided to the Hartford Courant.

Matthew Badger’s attorney told The Advocate on Monday his client “will not rest until he gets answers about why his precious girls died.”

“We will continue this case until we get the whole truth,” Manhattan attorney Ilann M. Maazel wrote in an email. “What caused the fire that killed Lily, Sarah, and Grace Badger? Why did the City of Stamford demolish the house the morning after the fire? Why did Stamford destroy the electrical panels and all the evidence inside the house, instead of preserving the evidence? Why did Stamford give a permit to Michael Borcina, a contractor not registered to work in Connecticut?”

Matthew Badger, who has received a $5 million settlement from Borcina, continues to press the case against the city, Stamford’s chief building official, Robert DeMarco, and Director of Operations Ernest Orgera, and others including an electrical contractor.

Matthew Badger's claims against several subcontractors and their insurance carriers remain active, and the deposition was part of those lawsuits.

Stamford Mayor David Martin’s office declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. Madonna Badger did not respond to several attempts for comment.

Madonna Badger, an advertising executive in New York, and Borcina were dating at the time and escaped the 2011 fire, which killed 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah Badger, 9-year-old Lily Badger and their maternal grandparents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson.

Authorities said the fire began in the fireplace ashes, which were left in a bin in the mudroom. Borcina, who was renovating the Victorian home, was accused in the lawsuit of contributing with other defendants to make the house a "firetrap," including failing to install smoke detectors during construction.

A lawyer for Borcina didn't return a message seeking comment on Monday.

Madonna Badger has said that Borcina ran his hands over the ashes to make sure they were out before putting the bag in a bin in the mudroom, just before they went to sleep after wrapping presents early on Christmas morning. She has since said she believes the blaze may have been caused by an electrical problem.

In a federal lawsuit filed against many of the same people her ex-husband is suing, Madonna Badger charges that city officials intentionally destroyed evidence when they demolished the home without notice shortly after the fire in order to reduce their culpability. City officials have denied that claim.

Borcina also said in a deposition taken by lawyers for an electrical subcontractor that he hasn't talked to Madonna Badger since 2012, and that she removed records about the house renovation project from his computer without permission.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.