Mother of Connecticut kid accused of setting 6-year-old on fire rips family amid new video

The mother of the Connecticut boy accused of setting his six-year-old neighbor on fire slammed the burned boy’s mother after a video revealed the incident was not a result of bullying as was previously claimed.

Laura Giacobbe, 45, threatened legal action against the Krankall family and called for Maria Rua to be arrested after Rua said it was Giacobbe’s son, Stephano, eight, who doused a ball in gasoline, lit it on fire and kicked it at Dominick’s, 6, face.

‘I want her to get arrested because I don’t think it’s fair. It’s defamation of character,’ Giacobbe told the New York Post. ‘She slandered my family.

‘She put my son through hell. She put me in hell. I want her arrested for false statements.’

Backyard surveillance footage shows the events of April 24, when Dominick suffered second and third-degree burns while playing with other kids in Bridgeport, including Stephano and his brother, Lorenzo, 11. 

The video was released after police concluded there was no wrongdoing in the case, and shows the group of boys dousing a soccer ball with gasoline, setting it ablaze, and then kicking it around the yard.

Laura Giacobbe (right) threatened legal action against the Krankall family and called for Maria Rua (right with her son) to be arrested after Rua claimed Giacobbe’s son caused Dominick to suffer extensive burns after being hit with a burning ball 

Video shows a group of boys, including Dominick, dousing a soccer ball with gasoline, setting it ablaze, and then kicking it around the yard in April

See also  Notorious American anti-Semite arrested at Auschwitz is accused of abusing US troops

Dominick is seen shortly after catching on fire just out of the camera’s view. His mother, Rua, claimed it was Giacobbe’s children, Stephano, 8, and Lorenzo, 11, who caused the incident

Giacobbe refuted claims that her sons bullied Dominick and said her family has be ostracized by the allegations Rua made 

Rua had previously claimed in media interviews that her son was intentionally set on fire by neighborhood bullies, telling DailyMail.com last month that he ran home screaming ‘Mommy, they lit me on fire.’

The mother and other family members claimed that the other boys had lit a gasoline-soaked ball on fire and thrown it in Dominick’s face – a scene the newly released video does not depict. 

Rua also claimed that her son had been terrorized by Stephano and Lorenzo for more than a year, without naming the children.

‘These kids are bullies and physically abusive. They even threatened that they would light me on fire. They are angry kids and they are going to hurt someone,’ she said at the time. 

The case gained national attention, and a GoFundMe page for Dominick – which prominently touted the family’s bullying claims – has raised more than $500,000. 

There was even a parade of first responders in honor of Dominick as he recovered in hospital, and the young boy was invited onto the field before a New York Yankees game. 

Giacobbe said it was not fair for Rua and her family to be praised while her boys were criticized over the incident. 

‘Her child got to go to Yankee Stadium while my child sat inside in fear because of all the statements made against him,’ she told the Post. 

Giacobbe also claimed that Rua was supposed to be watching the boys on the day of the incident, and that her older son, Lorenzo, had actually tried to save Dominick. 

‘[Lorenzo] took his bare hands and smacked the fire out of his face, or else he would have been running upstairs with the fire on his face because [Rua] never came downstairs,’ Giacobbe said. 

‘I trusted her to be watching those children.’ 

Rua has denied the claims and told the post that Giacobbe was a ‘liar’ and a ‘narcissist,’ and alleged that the video her neighbor released was altered. 

‘The edited video. It’s all edited. It took a month and a half to come out. The Bridgeport Police have the actual footage from that day or they’re supposed to,’ she said. 

The video shows Lorenzo trying to pat out the flames as Giacobbe insists her sons tried to help

Giacobbe (above with her family) released the video after her sons were accused of bullying Dominick, an allegation that now appears false as police concluded there was no wrongdoing in the case

Dominick surrounded by all his favorite stuffed animals is recovering at the hospital

Dominick getting a piggy back from his dad, Aaron Krankall, while waving hello

Giacobbe stands by the video and says it proves that the bullying claims were a fabrication.

She also slammed Rua for setting up the GoFundMe, which echoed claims that her sons were bullying Dominick, calling it ‘sickening.’ 

‘Give the money back, Maria, to families that do have children who are very ill who need the money,’ Giacobbe told the Post. ‘Give it to the burn unit. I mean, enough is enough!’ 

‘She made a lie. This was a lie. She used him… she used her child to get that money.’

Giacobbe’s family attorney says they are even considering legal action, after the bullying claims generated a frenzy of threats from an online mob.

‘The police department had to sit in front of the home overnight, to make sure nothing happened. It was stated the house would be lit on fire, they were going to drag my son and myself down the street and let us suffer from the pain,’ said Giacobbe. 

However, Dominick’s family say that their information was based on what the boy told them about the incident, and pointed out that key moments of the incident are not visible on the video. 

Photos of Dominick posted from the hospital this week show that he is healing well from the incident, with just a few red marks visible on his forehead. 

Neighboring mother Giacobbe (above with her son’s father) says that the video evidence proves that the bullying claims were a fabrication

Photos show that Dominick has recovered well from the horrible ordeal

Dominick, who loves being outdoors, is pictures smiling after making a big catch in a photograph taken a few days before he was severely burned