Couple wishes they would have done more for children killed in fire

WEST ALLIS (WITI) -- West Allis Police on Monday, April 15th positively identified the victims found dead following a fire in West Allis on Thursday, April 11th. Five-year-old Nayeli Colon, four-year-old Adrian Colon and four-year-old Alexis Colon were found dead in the home. The childrens' mother, Angelica Belen was taken into custody after the fire -- and was reportedly not home when the fire broke out.

The faces of these three young children is an image Joe Tyborski can't get out of his mind. In mid-Marc, he found them alone in a West Allis parking lot.

"The next thing I know, there's two little boys just walking around back and forth. I looked to my left there's a van door open. I'm like, 'okay where's the parent? Where's the guardian?'" Tyborski said.

Tyborski says one boy was nearly hit by a car. Tyborski asked the four year olds where their mother was. One pointed at the Michael's craft store, so Tyborski took the children there and called out to his girlfriend, who was also inside Michael's.

"In the meantime, another man comes in and says there's a baby out in the parking lot crying and here we find out she left another baby in the vehicle that Joe didn't realize," Tyborski's girlfriend, Rita Privette said.

The childrens' mother, Angelica Belen was at the cash register with her young daughter, who was also killed in the fire, but Tyborski and Privette refused to give her the children.

"Joe raised his hands and said 'absolutely not,' and she looked at me and I said 'I don't think so.' No way we were letting those kids go back with her without having the cops involved at that point," Privette said.

A criminal complaint charges Belen with child neglect for that incident and another the month before.

In February, a social worker found the children left alone in the home. The social worker was involved because there were prior allegations of child neglect.

On Thursday evening, April 11th, they were left alone again. Three died in a fire.

"We didn't do enough. We didn't do enough. Kind of sucks being a U.S. Marine. Just God bless every man and woman who produces a child. Do the best you can. Life's too short to just kick them away. This is not right. It's not America. Two little baby boys," Tyborski said.