The three little girls killed in an early morning Christmas Day fire were remembered today at a Manhattan funeral. Madonna Badger, whose daughters Lily, 9, and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, died in her Stamford, Connecticut home, along with her parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, gave the eulogy. She said, "I want to remember my girls out loud... My girls are in my heart. They're right here. And that's where they live now."
Hundreds attended the service at St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue. Badger and her estranged husband, Matthew Badger, were seen embracing and crying as their daughters' coffins were brought into the church. Badger's boyfriend, Michael Borcina, was also seen next to Madonna Badger. Investigators say that Borcina emptied still-smoldering embers from a fire into a bag and placed the bag in the mudroom or in a trash enclosure; later, the embers triggered fire. (It's believed the embers were removed so the girls would not worry about Santa Claus being injured when coming down the chimney.) By the time firefighters were called to the house, they could only rescue Madonna Badger and Borcina.
Around 800 other mourners attended this morning's service. NBC New York reports, According to the program, Rev. William Shillady of the United Methodist City Society delivered the sermon, followed by performances of "Amazing Grace," "This Little Light of Mine," and "Over the Rainbow," by Jenni Muldaur, Teddy Thompson and Rufus Wainwright, respectively. The pallbearers were 18 Stamford firefighters.
A private service, which will include the remains of Lomer and Pauline Johnson, will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery.
