Married couple die in Mamou house fire

MAMOU -- Tosha Cormier was sifting through the charred remains of the residence on Birch Street on Thursday afternoon, a house that her two sons, Tristan and Tylor, had known as their grandparent’s home.
Cormier was there trying to salvage any mementoes such as family photos and belongings, as well as any legal documents to help with the aftermath of what occurred in the early morning of Saturday, October 8, 2016.
“At two o’clock in the morning I got a phone call from the neighbor across the street that let me know that the house was on fire,” Cormier said. “Apparently she was found laid across the bed and he was found as if he had fallen back into the closet. They think he was trying to pick her up but the smoke got to both of them. It is just so sad.”
The she and he Cormier spoke of were 55-year-old Regina LeJeune and her 57-year-old husband Michael LeJeune, and a house fire that morning claimed that both of their lives.
According to a release from the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, investigators arrived on the scene of a residential structure fire at 418 Birch Street shortly after 2 a.m. last Saturday. As firefighters were trying to suppress the blaze, the bodies of the LeJeunes were located within a bedroom of the wood-framed, brick veneer home.
After an examination by state investigators, the bodies were released to the Evangeline Parish Coroner for an official autopsy.
During their on-site investigation, the marshal’s office discovered that people in the neighborhood had observed barbecuing under the couple’s carport earlier on Friday evening. The house fire was reported by the LeJeune’s neighbors after smoke and flames were seen emanating from the area of the carport.
The fire was so severe that portions of the house collapsed, and a pickup truck that was parked in the driveway also caught fire.
At this time, investigators have not determined an actual cause of the fire but they have established that the blaze did originate in the area of the carport. Investigators also revealed that there were no working smoke alarms in the home at the time of the fire.
According to Cormier, Regina and Michael did not have any money saved in their bank accounts, and their vehicle had no insurance coverage, which means at this time there is no money to have the bodies cremated.
Cormier, on behalf of her sons, has set up a You Caring account, which is a compassionate crowd funding website, to raise funds to help pay for the cost of the funeral services, and other affairs related to the fire.
For anyone interested in helping the family in this time of need, they can do so by donating at https://www.youcaring.com/michael-mike-lejeune-regina-molitor-lejeune-se... or by contacting Ardoin’s Funeral Home in Mamou at (337) 468-5231.