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Home • News

Woman Starts Massive Fire After Losing Home In Divorce Settlement

Woman Starts Massive Fire After Losing Home In Divorce Settlement
Channel 2 Action News
By Lauren Porter · Updated October 24, 2020

A Paulding County, Georgia woman set fire to her house after losing it to her husband in a divorce. 

Around 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, Adrienne Satterly set the home ablaze in the kitchen. The fire prompted a statewide investigation after the flames spread to 19 other nearby homes in which four were destroyed, two were left significantly damaged and others endured various degrees of heat and smoke damage, according to WSB-TV.

The woman accused of starting the destructive Hiram fire, Adrienne Satterly, age 41, has been charged with 14 counts of first-degree arson and three counts of aggravated animal cruelty.#11Alive pic.twitter.com/5vwOxOUKak

— Christie Diez (@ChristieOnTV) February 20, 2018

Deputy Jay Florence, Fire Commissioner of Paulding County, said that the 41-year-old stacked a pile of mattresses in the kitchen to start the fire.

“We believe she lit them on fire,” Florence said. “She put not only herself but her neighbors and first responders in jeopardy.”

Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens estimated that the act caused more than $1 million in damages. After starting the fire, Satterly took her two cats, walked to a nearby Walmart, called 911 and directed dispatchers to her Hiram neighborhood. 

She faces 14 counts of first-degree arson and three counts of aggravated animal cruelty—two dogs and a cat died as a result of the fires. Satterly could receive up to 20 years in prison for each count.

TOPICS:  Black Love