Police investigating a December house fire that displaced a Delmar family say they’ve been unable to interview a key witness.
Lt. Thomas Heffernan of the Bethlehem Police Department said that Michelle Sanchez, the mother of 15-year-old Keenan Sanchez, declined to allow investigators to interview her son when detectives sought to question him on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Police had been waiting for his health to improve after he was pulled from the house fire.
At this point, she has refused to let us interview her son, Heffernan said. `He’s a juvenile, so we can’t just interview him on our own.`
Attempts to reach Sanchez were unsuccessful. Police declined to say what other interviews have been conducted.
The BPD is working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the investigation. Several explosions triggered the Saturday, Dec. 19, house fire, and police said chemicals were likely involved in the incident. Investigators are awaiting the result of lab tests to identify the chemicals, Heffernan said.
Keenan Sanchez was pulled from the Adams Place house by emergency workers and transported to the Westchester Medical Center burn unit. The community rallied around the Sanchez family in the wake of the incident, raising thousands in donations in a matter of days.
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