A Hastings-on-Hudson couple pleaded not guilty this week following their indictments in the deaths of a Massachusetts school teacher and her 1-year-old daughter in a fire last fall in the couple’s Airbnb rental in Dutchess County.
Meredith Darcy, 55, and Dennis Darcy, 57, were charged with second-degree manslaughter, accused of recklessly causing the deaths of Shannon Hubbard and her daughter Maggie in the Oct. 13, 2024, fire at the home on Clinton Landing Road in Clinton.
State police said that an investigation determined that the home “was not properly equipped with functional smoke detectors, in violation of New York State fire, building, and residential codes.”
The fire was not deliberately set and was believed to have started in a chimney flue, state police said.
Patricia Gunning, a New City lawyer representing the couple, said the Darcys were “absolutely devastated” by what happened, but she suggested the homicide charge was an overreach by prosecutors.
“We sharply disagree with the conclusions made by the District Attorney’s Office,” Gunning said Thursday night. “My clients steadfastly maintain there were smoke detectors in the home and would never have knowingly put another family in danger.”
She said the couple regularly stayed in the home with their two children, including a week before the fire.
Hubbard, 35, and her husband, John, a Dennis, Massachusetts, police officer, rented the house and were staying there with Maggie and their 3-year-old son. They lived in Brewster, Massachusetts, and Shannon Hubbard was a teacher at Chatham Elementary School in Chatham, Massachusetts.
The fire broke out at about 10:30 p.m. The Hubbards smelled smoke while they were on the patio.
John Hubbard called 911, while Shannon Hubbard went inside to get their sleeping children. John Hubbard also tried to rescue the children, but was unsuccessful. Firefighters got Shannon Hubbard and the children out of the home, but mother and daughter died from their injuries.
Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi said in a statement that the fire was preventable and that “we must commit to ensuring that no other family faces this same devastating fate.”
“The deaths of Shannon Hubbard and her young daughter in this senseless fire serve as a tragic reminder of the critical role smoke detectors play in safeguarding lives,” Parisi said. “Their absence was not only a failure of the necessary safety measures; the Grand Jury concluded, the Defendants were aware of and deliberately ignored the significant and unjustifiable risk of death that this absence created.”
Dutchess Judge Michael Hayes set bail at $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond or $200,000 partially secured bond. Gunning said her clients were released after posting bail. They are due back in court on April 7.
The Cape Cod Times contributed information.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Hastings NY couple charged in fire killed teacher, daughter at Airbnb
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