CICERO, Illinois – Authorities have identified a suspect they believe is responsible for an explosion in Cicero, Illinois, which killed one person and displaced 11 families.
The explosion also destroyed the home of a couple who had married on the same day.
“I ran here in my wedding dress, like down the alley, and was watching from a neighbor’s yard,” Eleni Vrettos, 32, told Nexstar’s WGN. “Everything was just smoke at that point.”
Officers arrived at the scene of the explosion in Cicero just before 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 15. When the fire was put out, authorities discovered the remains of 31-year-old Anthony Avila-Puebla in the debris, according to investigators.
Detectives said they discovered that Avila-Puebla had a relationship with a family member who lived in the home where the explosion occurred. While a family member attended the wedding, Avila-Puebla was caught on video parking half a block away, removing a five-gallon jug, and entering the building, according to police.
Avila-Puebla was then allegedly seen leaving the building with the empty jug and returning to his vehicle to retrieve more jugs before reentering the building. Following the explosion, Avila-Puebla was not seen leaving the building, according to authorities.
According to police, the investigation revealed that the jugs contained flammable liquid, and Avila-Puebla was found to be responsible for the explosion.
According to investigators, the explosion caused a neighboring building to catch fire, while another adjacent building sustained minor damage. Officials reported that 11 units and families were impacted.
The cause of the explosion remains unknown, and the investigation is still ongoing.
The other family members living in the house were said to be at the wedding ceremony when the explosion occurred. However, Vrettos previously told WGN that there were animals inside the home, including four of her beloved cats and two belonging to her mother.
“They were the perfect little bunch; they all seemed to get along. I expected to have them for years; they were all much younger, and I considered them to be my home. So now I don’t have a home, and I don’t consider them my home,” Vrettos said. “That is the most devastating because they are the ones who bring me comfort in the midst of the darkness. My father died a few years ago, so we don’t have the home to remember him by. “There’s a lot to mourn.”
Vrettos stated that she and her brother recently took over ownership of the home, which had previously been in her mother’s name for nearly 40 years. They intended to assist with updates and renovations to alleviate the burden; however, they were in the process of transferring home insurance, so they were not covered at the time of the fire.
