2 charged in death of Cape Cod woman and daughter after upstate Maggie valley house fire.
Shannon and daughter Maggie were on vacation in Clinton, New York, with the rest of the family when the fire broke out, according to the Dennis Police Department, where John Hubbard, Shannon’s husband and Maggie’s father, works
The owners of an upstate New York Airbnb where a Cape Cod woman and her 1-year-old daughter were killed in a fire last year are facing criminal charges, according to state officials.
Shannon Hubbard, 35, of Brewster, Massachusetts, and her 1-year-old daughter died following the fire on October 13, 2024, according to New York State Police. The Hubbard family was on vacation in Clinton, New York, at the time, and Shannon’s husband John and their 3-year-old son Jack survived, according to Dennis police, where John worked.
Dennis Darcy, 57, and Meredith Darcy, 55, who owned the home where the family was staying, have been charged with second-degree manslaughter, according to the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office. According to investigators, the listing for the Airbnb stated there were smoke detectors/alarms in the home, but there were not. In fact, the property was not in compliance with fire, building and residential codes for the state of New York.
The Darcys also did not have the appropriate permit to rent out the home, the DA said. They are accused of recklessly causing the deaths.
“This devastating tragedy could have been prevented. The deaths of Shannon Hubbard and her young daughter in this senseless fire serve as a tragic reminder of the critical role smoke detectors play in safeguarding lives,” District Attorney Anthony Parisi wrote in a statement. “Their absence was not only a failure of the necessary safety measures; the Grand Jury concluded, the Defendants were aware of and deliberately ignored the significant and unjustifiable risk of death that this absence created. As we mourn their loss, we must commit to ensuring that no other family faces this same devastating fate.”
“We sharply disagree with the conclusions made by the District Attorney’s Office,” Patricia Gunning, a lawyer representing the Darcys, told The Journal News, a newspaper in Lower Hudson Valley. “My clients steadfastly maintain there were smoke detectors in the home and would never have knowingly put another family in danger.”
