Salamanca women fight for justice after mother’s ‘suspicious death’

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Two women are fighting for justice after they say their mother’s death in a house fire was suspicious, yet ruled an accident.

In the early hours of March 13, the house Tracy Titus was living in on Waite Avenue went up in flames. The 61-year-old was killed, along with the family’s two dogs, and the deaths were later ruled accidental as a result of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.

However, her autopsy said she suffered a gunshot wound to the torso with a bullet recovered. There’s also video of the incident showing another person inside the home at the time flames broke out.

“I’m not going to settle for what the police department is trying to tell us,” said Lisa Krantz, Tracy’s daughter. “It’s family, it’s someone so dear to your heart like that. Your mother gave birth to you, you know in your gut when something’s not right. We’ve known from the very beginning that something is not right.”

Ashly Titus said in the days following the fire, the family heard rumors that a man had been seen leaving the house – and footage from a neighbor’s security camera shows just that.

In the video, a man is seen riding his bike up to the house before walking inside. A short time later, as flames and smoke can be seen from the windows, a loud bang rings out. The man then walks out of the house, watching the scene, before eventually riding off on his bike.

A couple of months after the fire, the women received another shock when they received the medical examiner’s report. Under the diagnosis section, it stated Tracy Titus had suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and a bullet had been recovered. But at that point, Tracy had already been cremated.

“We didn’t know she had been shot or that they had found a bullet in her,” Ashly Titus said. “We would not have had her cremated if we had known.”

Ashly and Lisa said they know the man who had been inside the house, and that he was questioned briefly by Salamanca Police while outside his workplace – but that’s where the investigation into him ended.

The women said they will continue to fight for answers in their mother’s death – even if that means another department begins digging for answers.

“My biggest wish is that somebody else would take over the case at this point, because it seems like, unfortunately, they are in over their heads,” Ashly said.

“Our mother’s case has been neglected. We’re at the six month marker, and we are still fighting to find justice for our mother,” Lisa said.

News 4 reached out to the Salamanca Police Department for comment on the investigation, including how they reached the conclusion Tracy Titus’ death was an accident. We have not heard back at this time.

Marlee Tuskes is an award-winning anchor and reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2019. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter.