Jury selection for the arson and murder cases against Baye will start May 6.
01.20.2011 | NORTHAMPTON -- Elaine Yeskie listens to court proceedings during a 2011 hearing for accused Northampton arsonist Anthony Baye.NORTHAMPTON -- Anthony P. Baye now faces a wrongful death lawsuit in addition to a criminal trial for murder, arson and other charges filed in connection with a string of 15 fires that terrorized the city and left two dead in the early hours of Dec. 27, 2009.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that Elaine Yeskie, seeking monetary and punitive damages, filed the suit Wednesday. Yeskie's husband, Paul W. Yeskie Sr., 81, and her son, Paul W. Yeskie Jr., 39, were killed in the blaze that destroyed the family's home at 17 Fair Street. Elaine Yeskie and another woman, Carol Lapointe, escaped the fire.
Baye faces 48 charges involving 28 fires in and around Ward 3 over a period of three years, including the fire at the Yeskie's home.
Elaine Yeskie's eight-count wrongful death suit alleges the deaths of her husband and son were the result of the “malicious, willful, wanton or reckless conduct of Baye.” The suit also claims that the fire left Yeskie to live with severe emotional distress.
Yeskie's attorney, Mark A. Tanner, told the Gazette that the suit was filed with the three-year statute of limitations for such complaints on the horizon.
Jury selection for the arson and murder cases against Baye will start May 6.