A Michigan man lost his life, and his wife suffered severe injuries following an explosion that destroyed their suburban home. Authorities suspect the incident was a murder-suicide attempt.
Doug Preston, 62, perished, while his wife of nearly 40 years, Lucy, 61, was rescued from the debris of their Plainfield Township, Mich., home when it exploded at approximately 4 a.m. on Tuesday, according to WZZM.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
Alpine Township Fire Chief Jeremy Kelly suggested a possible natural gas leak contributed to the tragedy. However, Kent County undersheriff Bryan Muir pointed to a more sinister cause.
“This is believed to be a domestic-related situation ⊠and that the fire was intentionally set, we believe by the husband at this point, intending to be a murder-suicide,” Muir stated to reporters on Tuesday.
Investigators have obtained text messages supporting their suspicion, though they have not disclosed further details.
Lucy filed for divorce from Doug in March, according to court documents obtained by WOOD, following Doug’s complaints about her alleged “excessive spending.”
Lucy, cherished in the local Polish community, and her electrician husband Doug were scheduled to appear in court on Friday for a hearing. They were also set to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday.
At the time of the explosion, the couple was under a mutual restraining order preventing either from damaging property, WZZM reported.
The order also prohibited them from deleting electronic data and making significant financial changes without court approval.
Neighbors noted the couple’s relationship appeared strong until recently.
Lucy confided in her neighbor of 30 years, Jerry Orent, about her marital issues, WWMT reported.
Orent expressed shock, saying, “Nothing is worth killing yourself or killing someone else. If you have a problem, ask for help.”
He added, “There just could have been a better way, how on earth can you think that killing yourself is going to be better than living.”
“There is no choice any longer, there is no fixing it, there is no common sense or logic,” he continued, “Someone made a decision and other people had to pay the penalty and it is down right sad.”
Orent described Doug Preston as someone who “doesn’t make mistakes and who is downstairs at 3:30 in the morning.” He added, “It just doesn’t fit,” he said.
Several windows of Orent’s home were shattered, and he considered himself fortunate to be alive.
Approximately 50 calls reporting the explosion were made soon after the incident.
“There was a massive explosion, rumbling,” neighbor Kurt Dutrizac described.
“We saw a fireball, kind of mushroom cloud, still rising from the house. And then I was able to get outside probably within a minute after that and at that point I saw that the house was on fire, kind of the backyard was on fire.
There was debris strewn about and there were some screams, shouting.”
Brave neighbors rushed to the scene, now reduced to rubble, to rescue Lucy.
Tim Johnson and his 17-year-old neighbor, Mandrell Bryant, assisted in pulling Lucy from the wreckage.
“I had to get in there and get her out,” Johnson, who hurried to the scene in his socks, told WOOD.
“[Bryant and I] grabbed her arms and pulled her out as far as we could.”
Bryant ran to the scene despite his mother’s warnings.
“My mom was telling me, ‘No, you can’t go, you can’t go,’ but I was like, ‘Mom, I see her, she’s right there, she’s right there,” he told WZZM.
Bryant noted that Lucy’s body was “blown so far out that she wasn’t actually inside of the house.” Doug’s body was recovered around noon as intense heat delayed recovery efforts.
Lucy, who was honored with the Polish cultural title “Busia Queen” in 2023, suffered “catastrophic injuries,” her friend Marzanna Butryn wrote on GoFundMe.
She endured severe fourth-degree burns over much of her body and remains on a ventilator, facing an “unimaginably long and painful road” of surgeries and rehabilitation, her friend shared.
In 2024, Lucy established the charity Busiaâs Boutique, which provides resources to families in need.
“Lucy is a caring, selfless person who has always given so much to those around her. She does so much for her community and is always willing to help others however she can. So many people know and love Lucy for her kindness, generosity, and big heart,” Butryn said.
In October 2024, Lucy shared how her husband helped bring her charitable vision to life.
“A lot of volunteers from this hall, my husband, and a lot of vendors that helped volunteer time and money and supplies, they all loved the cause and said, âLetâs do it,ââ she told WOOD.
