SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Schenectady Police Department is looking for answers regarding a mysterious fire that broke out at a Lansing Street home on Monday night, and why two children were left alone, found near the fire.
Police say the small fire started at a home on Lansing Street late Monday afternoon. There was no major structural damage to the home, though police are investigating how the fire started.
Police were told the Jessica Lupi, the mother of two children, a 3-year-old girl and her infant baby sister, was inside the home where the fire occurred doing laundry earlier in the afternoon.
The children were originally thought to be alone with the fire burning in the next unit. However, the children's grandfather, Jeff Lupi, lives next door and told NEWS10 the babies were with him. "I fell asleep and my granddaughter came out," Lupi described, "She is 3-years-old and smelled smoke, and came out into the hallway and the neighbor came down and brought her upstairs to keep her safe."
The two young girls were found by officials unharmed and uninjured, however their mother was no where to be found.
In learning this, investigators then turned their attention away from the fire and towards Lupi. Police took him in for questioning, but he has since been released. The police are now focused on Jessica Lupi's story.
Jessica Lupi told NEWS10 she was fighting with her boyfriend, and left the home to find money she thought he had taken, and when she returned the fire had started and her children were gone. She said she thought the children were with her father, Jeff Lupi.
Many questions remain unanswered in this incident, such as how the fire started and why all of the windows were broken out.
The children are safe and in protective custody. The Youth Aid Bureau and Child Protective Services are involved in the investigation.
NEWS10 ABC
