COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A woman who was charged with second degree arson following a house fire at 289 South Jefferson on March 18 appeared for an arraignment in Branch County District Court on Wednesday.
47-year-old Catherine Louise Allen was taken into custody by Coldwater Police shortly after the fire.
The charge was filed just over a month ago but the formal arraignment was put off as Allen underwent mental evaluations after a petition was filed in Branch County Probate Court.
Allen is accused of using a BIC lighter to light a one foot high stack of papers of fire in a back room closet. According to court documents, she allegedly told investigators that “the Gods told her to burn it down.”
Coldwater Fire Chief David Schmaltz said at the time of the fire that the two-story wood-frame house was a total loss.
He reported heavy smoke billowed out of the structure and that strong winds made it difficult to extinguish the blaze. Wind gusts that day were near 30 miles an hour.
The Quincy, Bronson and Lakeland Fire Departments had to be called in to assist Coldwater firefighters.
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