Late Tuesday evening, Matthew Badger’s estate reached a settlement against the town of Stamford, Connecticut, over a Christmas Day fire that claimed the lives of his three daughters and their grandparents in 2011, according to a statement given to People.
Matthew, 51, died in February and his brother, Campbell Badger, took over as administrator of his estate. The fire was at the home of Madonna Badger, Matthew’s ex-wife and the mother of 9-year-old Lily and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, who perished in the fire. Matthew started the nonprofit LilySarahGrace fund in honor of his daughters after their deaths.
“I appreciate...
Matthew, 51, died in February and his brother, Campbell Badger, took over as administrator of his estate. The fire was at the home of Madonna Badger, Matthew’s ex-wife and the mother of 9-year-old Lily and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, who perished in the fire. Matthew started the nonprofit LilySarahGrace fund in honor of his daughters after their deaths.
“I appreciate...
- 5/3/2017
- by Nicole Weisensee Egan
- PEOPLE.com
The girlfriend of Matthew Badger — whose three daughters were tragically killed in a Christmas Day house fire in 2011 — is speaking out after his death was announced Thursday.
“He was and will forever be the strongest man I have ever known,” Abby Ballin tells People. “A fighter till the end. I’m just so happy he doesn’t have to fight anymore.
“He is free.”
According to Ballin, Matthew died of natural causes and was surrounded by friends and family.
Ballin is the creative director and co-founder of the LilySarahGrace Fund, an organization Matthew set up to support “teachers in underfunded...
“He was and will forever be the strongest man I have ever known,” Abby Ballin tells People. “A fighter till the end. I’m just so happy he doesn’t have to fight anymore.
“He is free.”
According to Ballin, Matthew died of natural causes and was surrounded by friends and family.
Ballin is the creative director and co-founder of the LilySarahGrace Fund, an organization Matthew set up to support “teachers in underfunded...
- 2/10/2017
- by Rose Minutaglio
- PEOPLE.com
Update: Matthew Badger, whose three daughters died in a 2011 Christmas Day fire in Stamford, Connecticut, has died, his education fund announced Thursday. The story below originally appeared on People on June 15, 2012.
Six months after his his daughters Lily, 9, and Sarah and Grace, 7, died in a Christmas Day house fire, Matthew Badger wants to make sure their lives make a difference.
“They were going to do something in this world,” Badger tells People. “I love them so much. I said, ‘I’m going to do it for them.'”
He’s fulfilling that promise with his nonprofit Lily Sarah Grace Fund,...
Six months after his his daughters Lily, 9, and Sarah and Grace, 7, died in a Christmas Day house fire, Matthew Badger wants to make sure their lives make a difference.
“They were going to do something in this world,” Badger tells People. “I love them so much. I said, ‘I’m going to do it for them.'”
He’s fulfilling that promise with his nonprofit Lily Sarah Grace Fund,...
- 2/9/2017
- by Nicole Weisensee Egan
- PEOPLE.com
Matthew Badger – the man whose three daughters were tragically killed in a Christmas Day house fire in 2011 – has died, the LilySarahGrace Fund announced on social media on Thursday. He was 51.
“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Matthew Badger, Lsg co-founder,” the LilySarahGrace fund – which was started by Matthew – wrote in the statement. “When Lsg first started, it was to honor the lives and memories of Matthew’s daughters. Spurred by the vision of Matthew, and co-founder Abby Ballin, countless numbers of children nationwide have benefited from classroom learning experiences enriched by the arts and creativity.
“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Matthew Badger, Lsg co-founder,” the LilySarahGrace fund – which was started by Matthew – wrote in the statement. “When Lsg first started, it was to honor the lives and memories of Matthew’s daughters. Spurred by the vision of Matthew, and co-founder Abby Ballin, countless numbers of children nationwide have benefited from classroom learning experiences enriched by the arts and creativity.
- 2/9/2017
- by Lindsay Kimble
- PEOPLE.com
The architect and electrical contractor that worked on the home where five people, including three children, were killed in a Christmas Day fire have agreed to a $1.2 million settlement to the children's father. Advertising executive Madonna Badger lost her daughters Lily, 9, and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, and her parents Lomer and Pauline Johnson, when the massive fire ripped through her Stamford, Connecticut home. Badger, 51, and her then-boyfriend Michael Borcina, who was also the general contractor on the renovation, both escaped the home and survived. The father of the three girls, Matthew Badger, initially filed suit against Borcina, the city of...
- 9/1/2016
- by Tiare Dunlap, @tiaredunlap
- PEOPLE.com
The architect and electrical contractor that worked on the home where five people, including three children, were killed in a Christmas Day fire have agreed to a $1.2 million settlement to the children's father. Advertising executive Madonna Badger lost her daughters Lily, 9, and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, and her parents Lomer and Pauline Johnson, when the massive fire ripped through her Stamford, Connecticut home. Badger, 51, and her then-boyfriend Michael Borcina, who was also the general contractor on the renovation, both escaped the home and survived. The father of the three girls, Matthew Badger, initially filed suit against Borcina, the city of...
- 9/1/2016
- by Tiare Dunlap, @tiaredunlap
- PEOPLE.com
The ex-boyfriend of Madonna Badger, who lost her three daughters and her parents to a Christmas Day house fire in 2011, now claims the grieving mother may be at fault for the deadly blaze. In a lawsuit deposition obtained by the Hartford Courant, Michael Borcina is changing his story - saying he previously lied about leaving a bag of ashes believed to have caused the fire in the home's mudroom in order to "protect" his then-girlfriend Badger. "To spare her from carrying the burden that maybe she had done something to hurt her family," he said, according to the Courant. Lily,...
- 5/10/2016
- by Char Adams, @CiCiAdams_
- PEOPLE.com
The ex-boyfriend of Madonna Badger, who lost her three daughters and her parents to a Christmas Day house fire in 2011, now claims the grieving mother may be at fault for the deadly blaze. In a lawsuit deposition obtained by the Hartford Courant, Michael Borcina is changing his story - saying he previously lied about leaving a bag of ashes believed to have caused the fire in the home's mudroom in order to "protect" his then-girlfriend Badger. "To spare her from carrying the burden that maybe she had done something to hurt her family," he said, according to the Courant. Lily,...
- 5/10/2016
- by Char Adams, @CiCiAdams_
- PEOPLE.com
It's finally back! We couldn't have been more excited for the new series of Doctor Who and the opening episode certainly delivered some pretty spectacular moments.
But what did the Whovians of Twitter make of it all? Naturally, there are spoilers aplenty below so make sure you're all caught up on 'The Magician's Apprentice' before reading on.
Doctor Who review: 'The Magician's Apprentice' is mad and ambitious
Not only did we see the return of Davros, but the Doctor also made a typically big entrance - awesome guitar included.
Digital Spy rounds up some of the best Twitter reactions to the series premiere.
It was a big night with the unexpected return of arch-nemesis Davros
Plot Twist. #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/7gWQZsGUFk
— Morgan Jeffery (@morganjeffery) September 19, 2015
Doctor: "Tell me your name, child"
Boy: "My name is Davro. Bobby Davro."
*The Doctor looks on in horror*
#DoctorWho #Davros
— Ben Rawson-Jones (@rawsonjones...
But what did the Whovians of Twitter make of it all? Naturally, there are spoilers aplenty below so make sure you're all caught up on 'The Magician's Apprentice' before reading on.
Doctor Who review: 'The Magician's Apprentice' is mad and ambitious
Not only did we see the return of Davros, but the Doctor also made a typically big entrance - awesome guitar included.
Digital Spy rounds up some of the best Twitter reactions to the series premiere.
It was a big night with the unexpected return of arch-nemesis Davros
Plot Twist. #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/7gWQZsGUFk
— Morgan Jeffery (@morganjeffery) September 19, 2015
Doctor: "Tell me your name, child"
Boy: "My name is Davro. Bobby Davro."
*The Doctor looks on in horror*
#DoctorWho #Davros
— Ben Rawson-Jones (@rawsonjones...
- 9/19/2015
- Digital Spy
Money can't bring his daughters back, but Matthew Badger will hopefully find some relief now that he's settled the wrongful death lawsuit against the contractor whose actions accidentally led to their demise. Michael Borcina and his company have agreed to pay $5 million in a settlement, according to court records obtained by the Associated Press. The Christmas Day house fire in Stamford, Connecticut, claimed the lives of Badger's daughters Lily, 9, and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, as well as their maternal grandparents, in 2011. Borcina, who was renovating the house, was also dating the girls' mother, Madonna Badger, at the time. According to investigators,...
- 1/14/2015
- by Tara Fowler, @waterfowlerta
- PEOPLE.com
Money can't bring his daughters back, but Matthew Badger will hopefully find some relief now that he's settled the wrongful death lawsuit against the contractor whose actions accidentally led to their demise. Michael Borcina and his company have agreed to pay $5 million in a settlement, according to court records obtained by the Associated Press. The Christmas Day house fire in Stamford, Connecticut, claimed the lives of Badger's daughters Lily, 9, and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, as well as their maternal grandparents, in 2011. Borcina, who was renovating the house, was also dating the girls' mother, Madonna Badger, at the time. According to investigators,...
- 1/14/2015
- by Tara Fowler, @waterfowlerta
- PEOPLE.com
In the face of unimaginable loss, Madonna Badger says faith was one thing she didn't lose.
On Christmas Day in 2011, Badger's three young daughters and her parents all perished in an accidental fire that raged through her Stamford, Connecticut, home early that morning.
Now, in an exclusive clip, she sits down with Oprah Winfrey for an upcoming episode of Super Soul Sunday on Own, discussing how she coped in the days following the tragedy.
Asked whether she questioned God for her loss, Badger says, "Oh, yeah, a lot. A lot." But thanks to meaningful words from the minister who conducted her family's funeral,...
On Christmas Day in 2011, Badger's three young daughters and her parents all perished in an accidental fire that raged through her Stamford, Connecticut, home early that morning.
Now, in an exclusive clip, she sits down with Oprah Winfrey for an upcoming episode of Super Soul Sunday on Own, discussing how she coped in the days following the tragedy.
Asked whether she questioned God for her loss, Badger says, "Oh, yeah, a lot. A lot." But thanks to meaningful words from the minister who conducted her family's funeral,...
- 10/23/2014
- by Janine Rayford Rubenstein, @JanineRayford
- People.com - TV Watch
Jessica Biel and Tina Fey can be so sketchy. And we mean that in the nicest way. Biel and Fey are among the celebs that have contributed original drawings to Color Outside the Lines, a new fundraising campaign for children's art education group LilySarahGrace (Lsg). Lsg was started by Matthew Badger in honor of his three young daughters who tragically passed away in a house fire on Christmas Day in 2011. All three daughters (Lily was 9 and twins Sarah and Grace were 7) had dyslexia, but art education proved to be an effective tool in combating their literacy challenges. The organization helps bring art into underserved schools. "This campaign is all about promoting the joy of...
- 9/25/2014
- E! Online
Madonna Badger, whose parents and three daughters died in a Christmas Day fire at her home in 2011, married longtime friend Bill Duke, she announced on her Facebook page. "We did it!" she wrote Wednesday in a status update that shows Badger and her new husband on the steps of St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel Lutheran Church in Brooklyn. "Bill and I eloped today!" The post was immediately flooded with comments from well wishers. "You are an inspiration and deserve to look as happy as you do in this picture sister," one commenter wrote. Badger, 50, first revealed her engagement to Duke, an ad agency executive,...
- 7/25/2014
- by Nicole Weisensee Egan
- PEOPLE.com
The grieving mom, who lost all three of her daughters last year on Christmas Day during a tragic house fire, has traveled all over the world to find peace — but still hasn’t found it a year later.
Madonna Badger, 48, awoke on Christmas Day 2011 to a nightmare — her Connecticut house was on fire, and her three daughters were trapped inside. Even though she and her boyfriend Michael Borcina were able to escape the blaze, her elderly parents and daughters, Lily, 9, and twin daughters Grace and Sarah, both 7, all perished in the house fire.
A year later, Madonna traveled to Doi Saket, Thailand to try and find peace with the situation and escape all of the Christmas buzz that reminds her of her deceased family — but found it was much more difficult than she was expecting.
“It’s so hard right now,” she told the New York Post on Dec. 22. “Last night was the hardest yet.
Madonna Badger, 48, awoke on Christmas Day 2011 to a nightmare — her Connecticut house was on fire, and her three daughters were trapped inside. Even though she and her boyfriend Michael Borcina were able to escape the blaze, her elderly parents and daughters, Lily, 9, and twin daughters Grace and Sarah, both 7, all perished in the house fire.
A year later, Madonna traveled to Doi Saket, Thailand to try and find peace with the situation and escape all of the Christmas buzz that reminds her of her deceased family — but found it was much more difficult than she was expecting.
“It’s so hard right now,” she told the New York Post on Dec. 22. “Last night was the hardest yet.
- 12/27/2012
- by Hollywood Life Staff
- HollywoodLife
Almost a year after the Christmas house fire that killed Matthew and Madonna Badger's three daughters, the father is still grieving the loss of his girls -- and said in a new interview that he considered killing his ex-wife and the man he felt was responsible for the tragedy. Matthew Badger is still incredibly grief-stricken over the loss of his three daughters Lily, 9, and twin daughters Grace and Sarah, both 7, who all perished in a tragic house fire at his ex-wife Madonna Badger's house on Dec. 25, 2011. The fire started hours after Madonna's live-in boyfriend Michael Borcina cleaned out the ashes from their fireplace, and placed them in a paper bag in the mudroom -- and Matthew still blames Michael for the death of their children, as well as her parents, Lomer Johnson, 71, and Pauline Johnson, 69. Just before 5 a.m. on Christmas Day, Madonna's house was engulfed in flames and smoke,...
- 12/3/2012
- by Christina Stiehl
- HollywoodLife
It was Christmas Eve, and 7-year-old Grace finished decorating the dining room table in preparation for the festivities to come the next day. In another room was a fireplace, and at about 8 p.m., the last log of the night burned. By 9, maybe 9:30 p.m., Grace listened to her mom's boyfriend read a holiday classic, Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Then she went to bed in her pink and white room while her sisters Lily, 9, and Sarah, 7, went to bed in their own pink and white room. Those were the final memories their mother, Madonna Badger,...
- 6/21/2012
- by Alison Schwartz
- PEOPLE.com
Matthew reveals his nightmares about his daughters' last terrifying moments in the Christmas morning tragedy that claimed their lives. In a new interview, Matthew Badger says he is haunted by the visions of his three daughters' final moments in the Stamford, Connecticut home that went ablaze on Christmas morning six months ago. After reading recent reports of the tragedy, Matthew, 47, "got taken to that night." "Just the thought that my girls might have suffered or panicked or were running around the house to get out..." he said in a People interview. Matthew continues to grieve for his three daughters, Lily, 9, and seven-year-old twins Sarah and Grace. "If I don't cry every day, the waves are bigger. If I cry every day, it is less dramatic," he told the magazine. "I don't think the loss is ever going away." The legacy of his three daughters lives on in Matthew's LilySarahGrace fund...
- 6/18/2012
- by Lorraine Chow
- HollywoodLife
Six months after his his daughters Lily, 9, and Sarah and Grace, 7, died in a Christmas Day house fire, Matthew Badger wants to make sure their lives make a difference. "They were going to do something in this world," Badger tells People. "I love them so much. I said, 'I'm going to do it for them.'" He's fulfilling that promise with his nonprofit Lily Sarah Grace Fund, which focuses on bringing arts to underfunded public schools. All three girls had dyslexia, and art was a creative outlet and learning tool. The girls and their maternal grandparents perished in a horrific fire at the Stamford,...
- 6/15/2012
- by Nicole Weisensee Egan
- PEOPLE.com
The horrific blaze took the lives of her three children and her parents. Now the grieving mother says that critical evidence was destroyed when the city demolished the house without her permission. Madonna Badger lost her three children -- 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah and 9-year-old daughter Lily -- as well as her parents in a Dec. 25 fire which destroyed her Stamford, Connecticut home. Now she's suing the city for damage done After the deadly blaze. Madonna is suing for property damage, personal injury and civil rights violations, the Associated Press reports. She argues that the city didn't properly compensate her or give her notice before they demolished the damaged home. Madonna further insists that evidence to trace the start of the fire was also destroyed when the house was leveled. The city is denying responsibility for the incident. Do You think Madonna has a case, HollywoodLifers? [Associated Press] -- William Earl...
- 6/2/2012
- by William Earl
- HollywoodLife
Matthew is renting out Times Square's New Victory Theater to honor his three children who were killed in a fire Christmas morning. While ex-wife Madonna will be absent, Julianne Moore, Whoopi Goldberg & more will attend. Matthew Badger will throw a charity event for a fund that honors the memory of his young daughters. The Badger family continues to mourn the loss of Lily, 9, 7-year-old twins Sarah and Grace, and their grandparents Lomer and Pauline Johnson who died on Christmas morning in their Connecticut home. “I think it’s going to be wonderful, because they always wanted to be on Broadway,” said Matthew to Page Six. A rep for the benefit confirmed to the publication that his ex-wife, Madonna Badger “knows about the event, but is unable to attend.” Matthew created his Lily Sarah Grace Fund in April to raise support for the arts in schools. It was "a natural evolution out of grief,...
- 6/1/2012
- by Lorraine Chow
- HollywoodLife
Matthew appeared on 'The View' on May 23 to talk about his three daughters who tragically died on Christmas Day when a fire broke out in their mother's home -- read on to find out what he said in this emotional interview. Just looking at Matthew Badger is heartbreaking because you know he's been through the most unimaginable tragedy. The father sat down with Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg and fought back tears as he talked about Lily, 9 and seven-year-old twins Sara and Grace. "I'm constantly reminded of them, a flicker anything that reminds me of the girls," he says. "It's constant grief." But Matthew has said that he's not scared because he's already lost everything. He went on to say that he's "never been more motivated" to work on the Lily Sarah Grace fund which he started to promote art in public schools. The investigation into the fatal fire of Badger’s Stamford,...
- 5/23/2012
- by Chloe Melas
- HollywoodLife
Matthew Badger is now planning to sue the city of Stamford, Conn. for passing inspection on a house that wasn't safe for his ex-wife, three daughters and parents-in-law to be living in. What an upsetting case! Matthew Badger has threatened to sue a number of people in regards to the tragic Christmas death of his three daughters -- Lily, 9 and twins Sarah and Grace, 7 -- but now he's planning to sue the city of Stamford, Conn. for allowing the house in which his three daughters and ex-wife lived to become a fire hazard. "They had inspections there," Matthew's attorney, Richard Emery, told the AP May 4. "They granted permits there when they shouldn't have granted the permits. They were well aware of the fact that a smoke detector system which even had been installed was not hooked up. None of this would have happened if Stamford did its job." The investigation...
- 5/5/2012
- by HL Staff
- HollywoodLife
The devastated father of three little girls killed in a tragic Christmas fire that swept through their mother's house, finally speaks out! Matthew Badger and Madonna Badger of Stamford, Conn., lost three daughters -- Lillian, 9, and 7-year-old twins Sarah and Grace -- Christmas Day last year. Now he wants to heal his pain with the loving memories he has of his beloved daughters with a memorial fund. “Gracie was this wonderful ball of creativity. Lily was more of the poet. Sarah was this wonderful ball of love,” Badger said recently. The memories of his daughters brought him out of isolation to continue living his life, CBS New York reports. His wife is still suffering from the loss of their children. He wants their memories to live on and their short lives can touch others lives everyday. The website features tributes of the girls singing and dancing. The money raised through...
- 4/25/2012
- by Giovanna Pagliarulo
- HollywoodLife
Is the grieving dad planning on suing Madonna for the tragic fire that killed his three beloved daughters? Madonna Badger's ex Matthew Badger is taking the first legal steps to sue over the horrific Connecticut blaze that killed his three young daughters — Lily, 9 and twins Sarah and Grace, 7 — on Christmas day, according to the NY Post. Will the devastated and heartbroken Madonna now have to deal with a "wrongful-death claim" too? Matthew filed papers in Stamford Probate Court recently, but his lawyer Richard Emery says Matthew "has no intention of suing his ex-wife." But Richard is criticizing Madonna's boyfriend, Michael Borcina, who was the contractor on the renovations at the home. The $1.7 million home didn't have working smoke detectors at the time of the fire, and Michael is the one who put still-smoldering ashes from the fireplace into a trash enclosure. The house also didn't have a certificate of occupancy,...
- 2/13/2012
- by Anna Moeslein
- HollywoodLife
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