What was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives turned into a devastating tragedy for newlyweds Tom Davis and Eleni Vrettos. While they were exchanging vows, their home in Cicero, Illinois, was completely destroyed in a massive explosion—set off by one of their wedding guests, who died in the blast.
A Wedding Day Disaster
On February 15, just a day after Valentine’s Day, Tom and Eleni were celebrating their love when chaos struck. The couple had no idea that one of their guests had quietly left the ceremony, only to set their house on fire. Moments after they said “I do,” the bride started receiving frantic messages about the explosion.
“I ran here in my wedding dress, like down the alley, and was watching from a neighbor’s yard,” Eleni told WGNTV.
What she saw was heartbreaking—flames consuming her home, thick smoke billowing into the sky, and firefighters struggling to control the blaze.
Who Was Responsible?
Authorities later identified the person found dead in the rubble as 31-year-old Anthony Avila-Puebla. He had been a guest at the wedding and was reportedly in a relationship with someone who lived in the house. However, police have not revealed the nature of his connection to the couple.
Security footage revealed that after slipping out of the ceremony, Avila-Puebla parked his car just a block away from the couple’s home. He was later seen carrying at least two containers of flammable liquid inside the building—never coming back out.
The Devastating Aftermath
Thankfully, no one else was inside the home at the time. However, the couple’s six pet cats are missing, feared dead in the fire.
The explosion was so powerful that it also set a neighboring building on fire, forcing 11 families out of their homes. Fire crews worked tirelessly to put out the flames, but the damage was already done.
Eleni and Tom, who had been living in the home for years, were left with nothing. Adding to their misfortune, they had been in the middle of transferring their home insurance policy and had no coverage to help them recover from the loss.
“The building belonged to my family for almost 40 years,” Eleni said. “I grew up here. This is all I really know.”
Community Comes Together
In the wake of the tragedy, friends, family, and community members rallied around the couple. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help them rebuild their lives, raising nearly $57,000. The fundraiser described the home as more than just a place to live—it was where Eleni grew up, where she and Tom had started their life together, and where countless memories had been made.
Authorities are still investigating what led Avila-Puebla to commit such a horrific act. The newlyweds, meanwhile, are left trying to pick up the pieces of a life they had just begun.
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