Officials in Cicero, Illinois, have confirmed that Anthony Avila-Puebla, 31, was killed in an apartment explosion last month, and have now identified him as the individual responsible for the fatal incident, Chicago Sun-Times reports. According to Cicero Police, surveillance footage captured Avila-Puebla parking his car near the two-story home at the 2200 block of South Central Avenue and carrying jugs filled with flammable liquid to the residence shortly before the blast occurred on February 15.
Avila-Puebla was seen making multiple trips from his vehicle to the house, taking at least three trips inside with the jugs, and, after entering a third time, the home exploded and erupted in flames, and Avila-Puebla was not observed exiting the building before the explosion as reported by CBS Chicago. The investigation by the Cicero police has not yet uncovered the motive behind why Avila-Puebla, who was related to and had fathered the child of the bride's sister, would carry out such an act, especially when the building's occupants were attending a wedding on the same day.
The explosion demolished a family home filled with 40 years of memories and tragically resulted in the loss of Eleni Vrettos' cats—Bambi, Tucker, Reya, Graham, Old Boy, and Grey. Vrettos, a recent bride, had moved back into her family home with her new husband to start their life together. "It's difficult. He had medication that he needed in the home too, so that's hard," Vrettos said in an emotional statement obtained by CBS Chicago while coming to terms with the destruction of her uninsured family home.
