Cordell Brown says he and his family are going through the “most tragic possible circumstances” after his five-month-old son, Hunter Brown, died when their Edmonton home was set on fire Tuesday morning.
“Losing him is like a really mind-boggling catastrophe in our mind,” Brown told Global News Wednesday afternoon.
“I couldn’t even see him at the hospital. I looked at him for one second and just walked away and started crying.”
READ MORE: Memorial grows for baby boy outside Edmonton home hit by fatal arson
Firefighters pulled Hunter and his mother, Angie Tang, from their burning home in the Ambleside neighbourhood. Police have determined the fire was deliberately set and are now investigating Hunter’s death as the city’s 32nd homicide. An autopsy revealed Hunter died of smoke inhalation.
Tang remained in hospital Wednesday afternoon in critical but stable condition.
“We just told her the news that Hunter has passed away and there’s eight people holding her down right now because she’s not taking it very well, nor would anybody,” Brown said.
He said he and his wife, who have been married for more than nine years, had been trying to have a baby for about four years. Then last year, after Brown lost his mother to cancer, he said they used the inheritance money for fertility treatments.
Hunter turned five months old on Monday. Brown said they spent the day at the pool.
“He had the pool, he went to bed, everything was good. Who would have known that our whole house would explode, people would die, our whole life would end as we know it?” he said.
“I cry all the time, take medications to try to keep me together,” he said. “Whoever set the fire, I don’t know if they did it as a prank or as a joke, but the ramifications of this – I lost everything that my mom gave me from the inheritance, the most precious heirlooms of the family.
“I’ve lost my son, which I consider from my mom because she paid for him. I’m losing my dad shortly from cancer.”
READ MORE: Baby boy’s death a homicide, house fire deliberately set: Edmonton police
Watch below: His baby is dead and his wife is fighting for her life and now, an Edmonton father is asking anyone with information about a horrific case of arson to call police. Kendra Slugoski reports.
Brown said he’s been back to the house four or five times since the fire. He said he hopes whoever is responsible for setting it comes forward.
“There’s a murder investigation,” he said. “There’s going to be very serious consequences for that.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, police said they did not have any suspects in custody.
Brown said he was not injured in the fire. Five other people lived in the home and were able to make it out before fire crews arrived.
Watch below: Police have confirmed a south Edmonton house fire that killed a baby boy was arson and now the homicide unit is investigating. Kent Morrison has more from the scene.
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