An extended family of 12, including eight children, are still shellshocked and devastated a week after an arson fire claimed their, home, everything they owned inside and five vehicles.
Daughter-in-law Taryan Benitez, who is currently in Mexico and acting as the spokesperson for her in-laws and their Hispanic family due to their limited English-speaking, said Tuesday that the family’s housing needs are urgent.
“They are staying in a hotel that their church has thankfully paid for, but they’re only able to stay there until this Friday,” she said. “I did find them a place that they could go temporarily … the problem is I’m at the moment trying to call everywhere I can to try and find help for a deposit.
"They’ve had to spend every little bit they have for food and clothing necessities that they’ve needed and gas to get back and forth,” Benitez said.
Meanwhile Laramie County Fire Authority Chief George Marcott said an investigation into the blaze that had three departments trying to contain it in the early morning hours of May 11 continues.
“The initial investigation is partially complete, but there is still an ongoing investigation,” he said.
On Drugs, With A Lighter
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office initially reported the day after the fire that they arrested Bocephus Osmon of Cheyenne in the incident.
He has been charged with two counts of third-degree arson.
Court records show that when a Laramie County deputy arrived in the 1000 block of Drew Court about 1:10 a.m. on May 11, he saw flames coming from a small camper that were “growing quickly.”
The police affidavit shows that Osmon had later gone to a friend’s house to take a shower and had told her that he had started the fire.
A video obtained by an investigator shows him walking away from the Drew Court address at 12:54 a.m., according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in his case.
The affidavit states Osmon told the investigator he could not recall if he had been at the property because he had been on drugs.
He admitted to starting a fire at another location in a burn pit using a lighter.
Osmon told the investigator he did not use an accelerant when he started the fire in the burn pit, just his lighter.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Brandon Warner said Osmon remains behind bars. His bond is set at $10,000 cash and he has a preliminary hearing on the charges against him set for Wednesday.
The Squatters Next Door
The dilemma for the family of Benjamin and Luzmaria Benitez began early that morning when the father awoke to a fire that had started on another property and spread to theirs.
Taryan Benitez said her in-laws had lived in the home for 10 years and had complained to the city of Cheyenne numerous times about squatters living in the abandoned house next door, as had other neighbors.
She said the owner of the abandoned home died a few years ago and there is no one to file a formal complaint about, which police indicated was needed to evict squatters.
On the evening of the fire, a man on the abandoned property started a fire to keep warm and it got out of control, Taryan Benitez said.
“Two neighbors called the police to say that there was a fire, but nobody went to warn the family,” Taryan Benitez said. “The dad, thank God, woke up and barely noticed there was a fire and they got out just in time when the police and fire department was showing up.
"They almost didn’t make it out.”
The fire had advanced into their home, and the family members were unable to go back in and save any possessions, she said.
The family also lost a flock of chickens that they had in cages just outside the house and inside on a little porch.
Challenging Fire
Marcott said the scene was challenging because in addition to the abandoned house there were camp trailers and a fifth-wheel trailer that people had been “squatting in” behind the abandoned house.
“That’s where the fire initially started,” he said. “There was a heavy fuel load of trash and propane bottles and all kinds of stuff back there and it spread.
"I think there was, like, six or seven vehicles and it spread over the neighbor’s property.”
He said the family’s vehicles then caught fire and “there was a pretty heavy fuel load and it was challenging to get that fire under control.”
Firefighters could not get into an alley behind the Benitez home because it was too narrow, so the attack to put it out came from the street.
Still, Marcott estimates they were able to save about 50% of the Benitez structure.
“We did save the abandoned structure, too, it got into the peak of that but we were able to get it out before it went any further,” Marcott said.
Marcott said the fire started in the area of two trailers, but he declined to be more specific about details because of a continuing investigation.
He said his department had assistance from F. E. Warren Fire Department and the Wyoming Air National Guard Fire Department to contain the blaze and keep it spreading to other homes in the area.
Fire damage to the Benitez home represents an almost total loss. The home was not insured. (Courtesy Taryan Benitez) 
Fire damage to the Benitez home represents an almost total loss. The home was not insured. (Courtesy Taryan Benitez) 
Fire damage to the Benitez home represents an almost total loss. The home was not insured. (Courtesy Taryan Benitez) 
The blaze on May 11 was a challenging one for the fire departments. (Courtesy Taryan Benitez)
No House Insurance
For the Benitez family, the four adults — the parents, their oldest daughter and her boyfriend — recovery efforts mean they continue trying to keep the family afloat.
Benjamin Benitez had stopped paying his house insurance after he tried to file a claim for hail damage and was denied earlier this year.
“The dad decided, ‘Well, why am I paying for insurance when they’re not going to help us with anything,’” Taryan Benitez said.
She said her father-in-law works for an oil company, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law for a day care, and her sister-in-law’s boyfriend for a landscaping company.
Three of the eight children in the home, who range in ages from 14 to 3, belong to her in-laws and five to her sister-in-law, Taryan Benitez said.
The fire burned five of their vehicles and left them one functioning, but all of their clothes and possessions are gone, she said. The vehicles were all paid for and had basic insurance on them.
“I’ve spent eight hours the last five days calling organizations trying to find places to help,” Taryan Benitiz said. “Everybody says the same thing, that there’s just very limited resources right now.”
The Red Cross gave each member of the family $120, which they’ve used to buy food, clothes and help with the hotel bill.
The children need more clothes, especially socks and underwear, she said.
Taryan Benitez has started a GoFundMe to try and help her in-laws.
She said she found a man who was able to give the family a discount on a dumpster and family, along with some members of their church, are starting to try and clean up the fire damage.
A long-term goal is to remove the fire-damaged home and replace it on their lot, Taryan Benitez said.
“It’s slow process, because they have to work and there is not a lot of help,” she said. “We’re trying to figure out a way to get them another home, put on the property.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
