ALLEN PARK, Mich. – A family is hurting in Allen Park after a sudden fire in the kitchen led to the death of a 38-year-old man.
And a low blow followed for this family when, after the fire was put out, someone broke in and stole from the victim's home."
"He was my love for 19 years," said Samantha Flores, whose husband died in the house fire. Prayers are pouring in this weekend for the heartbroken family.
Their rock, Jeremy Beaudette, was taken from them around 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
It was Beaudette's day off. He was home cooking a birthday dinner for their nephew. He went to take a shower. Then a flash fire started in the kitchen, and the smoke overwhelmed him and the family pets.
His wife was at work, teaching at Wayne State University, at the time.
"He loved me and did everything for me and my dogs and cat. They were my family. He took care of all of us," Flores said.
To make the traumatic situation even worse, Flores says when firefighters left at midnight, someone opened a window, got inside and stole family heirloom jewelry.
"They waited and they watched," she said. "They stole all my jewelry, and again, it is not valuable. It is sentimental, my grandparents'. It's gone."
As police investigate, Beaudette would have been at his nephew's youth football game Saturday.
The River Rouge Jr. Panthers are playing the game in his honor.
The family says Allen Park police will be doing extra patrols by the home to make sure no one breaks in again as the family tries to recover.
An online fundraiser has been created for the family.