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Mother's Motive A Mystery

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By BILLY TOWNSEND, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 23, 2008

Updated: 01/22/2008 11:57 pm

WINTER HAVEN - As soon as they found gasoline on the bodies and a melted cigarette lighter nearby, investigators said they suspected that Priyakumari Master set herself and her two young children on fire last week in a storage room at the motel her family owns.

They said they're sure of it now but still can't answer why.

"There is no indication from physical evidence or from witness statements as to the motive behind these actions," Winter Haven spokeswoman Joy Townsend said Tuesday during a news conference. "We will not guess or make assumptions as to what occurred in the storage room."

Master, 25, her 3-year-old daughter, Mahi, and her 1-year-old son, Milan, died Jan. 15 from smoke inhalation and severe burns suffered in the fire at Camellia Motel on U.S. 17. Mother and daughter were pronounced dead at the scene. Milan died a few hours later at Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando.

Investigators with the Winter Haven fire and police departments and state fire marshal's office say Master locked herself and her children in a storage room at the rear of the motel just before 7 a.m. and doused everyone with gasoline. When Master used a lighter to start the fire, it ignited gasoline fumes and caused an explosion powerful enough to blow the locked door off its hinges, Townsend said.

A bystander dragged Master from the storage room into the motel parking lot. That's where Winter Haven police Officer Joe Sarno found her after he noticed smoke while patrolling on U.S. 17 and pulled into the motel to investigate.

Sarno discovered the children in the storage room after knocking down the flames with a fire extinguisher. Investigators found the lighter and a gas can and traces of gasoline on the victims' clothes and other debris in the storage room.
Winter Haven Fire Chief Tony Jackson said the fire was mostly confined to one corner of the room and to the victims.

The Camellia Motel is on a busy commercial stretch of U.S. 17. It's a well-kept, single-story building with about 20 rooms. It has not been a trouble spot for law enforcement, according to Winter Haven police.

Bimal Master, 44, Priyakumari Master's husband, is co-owner of the Camellia. He lived there with his wife and children, investigators said.

Bimal Master was at the motel when the fire broke out but didn't immediately realize what was happening, police have said.

On Tuesday, a Winter Haven police officer was guarding the entrance to the motel, enforcing the Master family's request for privacy.

Investigators said Tuesday that they had interviewed the family and Priyakumari Master's doctor, but found no indication that she had suffered from abuse, depression or other mental illness.

"This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' family," Townsend said.

Reporter Billy Townsend can be reached at (863) 284-1409 or wtownsend@tampatrib.com.

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