A woman died in a house fire in Deerfield Beach on Thursday morning that the Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire Rescue is calling “suspicious in nature.” NBC6’s Bri Buckley reports.
A woman was found dead in a fire at a duplex in Deerfield Beach on Thursday morning that authorities are calling "suspicious."
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue firefighters responded to the scene at Northwest 43rd Street and Northwest 4th Avenue at around 4:30 a.m. and encountered heavy smoke and flames coming from one side of the duplex, Battalion Chief Michael Kane said.
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WATCH HEREAs firefighters battled the flames, they found the victim deceased in a back bedroom, Kane said.
Officials haven't released the victim's identity but she was identified by her daughter as 54-year-old Paula Ribeiro, a mother of four.
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Daughter Kimberly Silva said she received a hysterical call from a family member Friday morning informing her of the fire. Silva added that her mother had a volatile relationship with her ex-boyfriend, who she'd only been dating for six months.
"Devastated. She didn’t deserve this. Her life was just going to church and coming home being with her children," Silva said. "I want justice for my mother because she didn’t deserve to die like that. From the way that they found her, she wasn’t completely burnt. But from the evidence that they saw at the moment, it showed that there was evidence that she was murdered before the fire."
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The family next to the unit that caught fire was able to escape, and the fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes, Kane said.
A dog was also rescued from the fire and reunited with family members.
Kane said the cause of the fire remains under investigation but is considered "suspicious."
"At this time, the fire is considered suspicious in nature, but the cause of the fire is not being released at this time," Kane said.
This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.
