Funeral Held for 3 Young Daughters in Christmas Day NY Inferno
The estranged husband and wife of three young daughters killed in a Christmas day inferno united on Thursday to lay their girls to rest.
Matthew and Madonna Badger were joined by hundreds of mourners at a Manhattan church to say their final goodbyes to Lily, Grace, and Sarah ages 7 to 10, according to Mail Online.
The fire which engulfed Madonna's Stamford, Conn. home as the family slept, also killed the girls' grandparents.
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It is believed that a separate funeral is being held for the girls' grandparents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, who reportedly died trying to save their grandchildren.
Madonna, a successfully renowned name in the New York fashion world, survived the tragic fire along with boyfriend Michael Borcina.
"Mom and her male friend were trying desperately to get to the children’s bedrooms,” Stamford Police Sgt. Paul Guzda told ABC News.
“They were trying to break windows. Mom was actually up on a roof that extends from the house, trying to break the window," Guzda added.
Some of the world's biggest names in fashion also attended the funeral, offering support to Madonna, who once worked for Calvin Klein.
Designers Calvin Klein and Vera Wang were just some that were spotted amongst the sea of grieving faces.
Although police are still investigating the blaze, it has been reported that burning embers ignited flames which ultimately burned the family mansion.
The official cause of death is believed to have been smoke inhalation, which Madonna and Borcina were also treated for.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and I tell you - to get that call in the early morning hours, to hear that there’s a fatal fire, that’s bad enough," Gudza explained.
"But then when you hear it on Christmas morning, that three little children like this perished in a fire…it’s beyond words,” he added.
It is unclear when the Johnson's funeral will be held, but sources say that it will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery.
