My friend D called me a little while ago. Her mom set fire to her house, locked herself in the bathroom with her cat, and mother and cat are both dead. Supposedly she called a friend to tell her she was setting the fire, and called back to report that it had been set. Not the first time my friend’s lost relatives to self-inflicted violence. About ten years ago her grandfather murdered her grandmother and then killed himself. In the same house. Apparently this has been the big news story for the last couple of days because a firefighter was injured in the blaze.
D and her mother have been estranged for longer than I’ve known her. She was raised by her grandparents. There’s a sister whose last known address was jail and a brother who she stays in touch with. No idea what’s up with her father. She never talks about him.
She’s doing all right from what I can tell. She’s more upset about the cat. D is next of kin along with the brother and the MIA sister, and since she’s closest it’s going to fall to her to take care of any arrangements, deal with any probate, etc. There isn’t likely to be much of an estate other than the house, and she doesn’t know how much damage there is. We’re hoping there’s insurance and that there’s coverage for arson-by-crazy-person.