ST. CLOUD – A North Dakota woman was sentenced Thursday to about three years in prison for starting a fire in April that fully engulfed the rural Stearns County home where she was living.
Woman sentenced to three years in prison for burning down man's Stearns County home
The woman reportedly told police she started a pile of clothes on fire with a propane torch.
September 8, 2023 at 6:38PM
Jamie L. Morin, 40, of Wahpeton, was arrested and charged this spring after police said she admitted to starting a fire at the house owned by 52-year-old Brian Blommel. In June, Morin pleaded guilty to first-degree arson after an exam found her competent, and on Thursday, Stearns County Judge William Cashman sentenced Morin to 38 months in prison with credit for 155 days served.
According to court documents, officials were dispatched to the house just north of Freeport at about 2 p.m. on April 6 and found black smoke and flames billowing from the home. No one was inside the structure, which was considered a total loss.
A neighbor said they saw Morin walking on the road nearby and brought her to the house, after which she told police she "flipped out" and started a pile of clothes on fire using a propane torch, documents state.
Blommel told police he met Morin in North Dakota and she moved in with him a month before the fire.
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