NEW: Cause of West Palm botanica fire that killed two undetermined

Feb. 16--WEST PALM BEACH -- Nearly four months after two women were killed in a fire, state investigators do not know what caused a back room in the religious store to burst into flames.

The cause of the Oct. 22 fire that killed 31-year-old Roselyne Lindor-Sanon and 36-year-old Maria Bonny at the St. Anne and Vierge Miracle Botánica store was ruled undetermined by the state fire marshal, according to records released this week. Because of the extensive amount of damage and possible fire starters in the store, investigators could not come to a conclusion.

The business, owned by Bonny, a mother of three, was a religious artifact store and self-proclaimed voodoo temple on Belvedere Road just east of Interstate 95.

Many flammable items were found throughout the business, like candles, incense and oils. According to the fire marshal, there was no working electricity, so an electrical malfunction was ruled out.

Additionally, authorities noted a "burn pattern" in a back prayer and ritual room where the fire is believed to have started that was consistent with a liquid being poured. Investigators later identified the liquid as gasoline.

Charred clothing from Bonny's body tested positive for gasoline, according to the report.

A woman who works at one of the stores in the strip mall where the store is located told investigators she saw Bonny walk into the store with a "large handled container" that morning, but did not know what it was.

But because of the lack of witnesses inside the store and since it was unclear if the gasoline was kept regularly in the business, investigators could not say for sure that gasoline was the cause, or if the fire was accidental.

Patrons in the hair salon next door said they heard what sounded like an explosion that afternoon, then saw a woman, later identified as Lindor-Sanon, rushing out of the Botánica on fire.

Lindor-Sanon later died from her injures at St. Mary's Medical Center. Bonny's body was found lying on her hands and knees in the store. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's reports, both women had second-degree burns on 80 percent of their bodies.

In December, Lindor-Sanon's husband, Christophe Sanon, filed a lawsuit claiming Bonny and her husband, the owners of the store, did not take safety precautions to insure instances like this would happen.

------

___

(c)2017 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.)

Visit The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.) at www.palmbeachpost.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.