A wife in Utah has been arrested after she allegedly set fire to a shed while her husband was inside it with another woman, according to an affidavit.
Claire Robinson, 60, was charged with aggravated arson over the fire at the 2000 West block of 350 North in Provo on Friday, according to Fox13 Salt Lake City.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the network, Robinson’s husband had been inside a homemade shed on the property with an unnamed woman when they started to smell smoke.
When the pair left the shed they saw Robinson “standing near the ignition point of the fire staring at the fire and the occupants of the shed,” according to Fox13.
The affidavit said a five-gallon gas canister was found near the burning shed and that it had no lid. It was also stated in the report that while the man is married to Robinson, he had been “co-habiting” with the other woman who was in the shed with him.
At first, Robinson told police she saw the flames and had tried to warn her husband and the other woman. But Robinson’s account was challenged by both people in the shed who claim she did not attempt to offer any kind of warning, the network reported.
Robinson then left the property and was found several blocks away with a butane torch in her possession, the document stated.
When in custody, a K-9 “gave a positive indication on the shoes and pants worn by [Robinson] during an open-air search,” Fox13 said.
Newsweek has contacted the Provo Police Department for comment.
According to the Salcido Law Firm in Utah, “aggravated arson is a first-degree felony and can result in a life in prison sentence.”
According to Utah’s crime statistics report for 2020, there were 277 arson cases, which represented a 40.67 percent increase on the previous year.
The report added that “between May and June, there was a spike of arson cases that correlated with incidents of civil unrest.”
In January, a 42-year-old woman accused of intentionally setting a series of fires across several miles in Tacoma, Washington, is currently being held on a $3 million bail after her initial court appearance.
A Pierce County judge set the bail for Sarah Ramey, who faces six counts of arson in addition to the charges of possessing stolen property and identity theft, according to online court records.
Ramey was taken into custody in connection with 18 fires, which she was accused of setting last month, according to KOMO News.
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