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Aug. 8, 2019 By Allie Griffin
The deadly fire set by a house guest in an East Elmhurst home last month claimed yet another victim Tuesday as 35-year-old Elizabeth Rodriguez succumbed to her injuries.
David Abreu Nuñez, 23, was offered a place to stay when the homeowners said he had nowhere else to go, but when they learned of his sketchy past, they asked him to leave. Instead he lit the two-story home at 23-49 93rd St on fire on July 10, killing himself and two others at the scene.
“We were helping someone and they were asked to leave because we found out certain things about that person and he just lost it,” said homeowner Raul Moreno, referring to Nuñez. “And this is the price we pay for helping somebody.”
Moreno said Nuñez had “mental issues” and fabricated stories, so he asked him to leave.
Rodriguez’s 6-year-old daughter Emma Dominguez and her 76-year-old father Claudio Rodriguez were killed in the fire on July 10, while her 10-month-old son was critically injured.
The family had been visiting with their Queens relatives, the Morenos, from the Dominican Republic.
