Wappinger mourns husband and wife found dead in burned home
The criminal complaint states that Buda set fire to the home knowing the Haits were inside.
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Wappinger residents are reeling over the deaths of a husband and wife known for their devotion to the community.
They are also wondering what led to the deaths inside the couple's home that investigators say was purposefully burned down.
Dutchess County fire investigators were again carefully handling the crime scene on Marlorville Road near Wappinger's Creek: the burned home of Paul and JoAnn Hait.
The Hughsonville Fire District and several other departments responded Sunday evening to a fire at the home. Once the fire was put out, firefighters discovered the couple's bodies inside the home.
Paul was 63 years old. JoAnn was 65.
Robert Buda, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was later arrested and charged with arson.
News 12 confirmed Tuesday that Buda is the couple's son-in-law. The criminal complaint states that Buda set fire to the home knowing the Haits were inside.
The prosecutor's office could not yet disclose whether the Haits died before the fire or during.
"This hits all the more different when it's intentional attack," Wappinger Town Supervisor Joseph Cavaccini told News 12 Tuesday.
Cavaccini said the couple was active in their neighborhood and that he worked with some of the Haits' relatives at Town Hall.
Cavaccini assisted at the fire scene Sunday.
He described how the mood changed on scene once the bodies were discovered.
"As details continued to become available to us ... that sadness turned into a lot of anger for a lot of people and confusion as to why such a heinous and evil act would happen to such good people," he said.
The motive is still unclear.
The Dutchess County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation.
Buda has not made bond and is still being held at the Dutchess County Jail. He is due back in Wappinger Town Court Friday.
