Slow cleanup of deadly fire frustrates Loudoun neighbors facing ‘daily reminder of arson’
The petals have dried up, but bouquets of flowers remain in the chain link fence in front of the Sterling, Virginia, townhouse where 36-year-old Madelaine Akers lived and died in a fire on Oct. 24.
However, neighbors on Riptide Square, in the Lowes Island neighborhood, have told WTOP they have grown weary and frustrated by “the daily reminder of the arson and loss of life” they continue to see and smell.
During a visit Thursday, the townhouse at 20703 Riptide Square, where Akers lived, has been removed and cleared down to the concrete slab. However, the severely damaged homes flanking Akers’ home are still there, as is the smell of burned-out materials.
“Aside from the eyesore, we live with the smell and the hazardous conditions of the materials and likely attraction of rodents,” wrote a neighbor.
On the three properties behind the temporary chain link fence, laced with remnants of yellow crime scene tape, the end unit belonged to the man charged with setting the fire that killed Akers.
Jacob Bogatin, 78, was arrested and charged with murder and arson of a dwelling that is usually occupied.
In a letter to WTOP, neighbor Carol Griggs said, “I realize no one has a playbook for this sort of event, with all the various business interests (owners, renters, insurance, investigators, law suits, etc.) but the neighbors who have to live with the scene everyday feel forgotten.”
Contacted by WTOP, Algonkian District Supervisor Juli Briskman said she is in touch with the HOA, and the county attorney is investigating options to help speed up the cleanup.
Briskman said insurance companies have not yet released the homes, and Bogatin’s home was in foreclosure at the time he allegedly torched it.
While getting the neighborhood back toward normal has been delayed, Bogatin’s criminal trial will also likely be delayed.
Court records show Loudoun County prosecutors will ask a District Court judge Friday to postpone Bogatin’s preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for Jan. 27.
In a motion, Brian Boyle, senior assistant commonwealth’s attorney, said prosecutors are still awaiting a report from the Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office about the origin and cause of the fire, as well as Akers’ autopsy report.
Fire spokesperson Laura Rinehart said the fire marshal reports often take months to complete, and that office is still awaiting testing at the state forensics lab.
“The fire was October 24th. It’s January 7th,” Griggs wrote. “Not interested in thoughts and prayers; am interested in action.”
As WTOP first reported, when Bogatin was arrested, he had another serious crime hanging over his head for decades — one in which his co-defendant has been identified as a powerful Russian organized crime boss.
According to federal court records, in 2002, Bogatin and three other men were indicted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on charges of mail fraud, money laundering, false filings with the Securities Exchange Commission, as well as Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization conspiracy counts, which are often used in organized crime prosecutions.
The case in Pennsylvania never went to trial because Bogatin’s three co-defendants fled and have been declared fugitives to this day.
One codefendant, Semion Mogilevich, has been identified by the U.S. Department of State as “a transnational organized crime boss operating from Russia” and other countries.
In 2003, Bogatin was released on $1 million bond. Over the next few years, conditions of home confinement and electronic monitoring were reduced. Court records in his local case say Bogatin moved to Loudoun County 17 years ago.