Arachnophobia can come at a cost but rarely do those costs include criminal charges and a torched home. Ginny M. Griffith, 34, of Hutchinson, Kansas is accused of burning her home in an effort to kill a spider. She allegedly used a cigarette lighter to set some towels on fire and destroyed not just her home but half of a duplex.
The fire department was able to quickly extinguish the fire and there was no structural damage. It is the charge that I find notable: aggravated arson. It was aggravated because the other half of the duplex was also occupied. However, it was not an intentional act. It was an act of utter stupidity caused by a fire of spiders. I do not question that she should be held accountable but aggravated arson? That puts her in the same league as serial arsonists.
Here is the provision:
Statute 21-3719: Aggravated arson. (a) Aggravated arson is arson, as defined in K.S.A. 21-3718 and amendments thereto:
(1) Committed upon a building or property in which there is a human being; or(2) which results in great bodily harm or disfigurement to a firefighter or law enforcement officer in the course of fighting or investigating the fire.
(b) (1) Aggravated arson as described in subsection (a)(1) resulting in a substantial risk of bodily harm is a severity level 3, person felony.
(2) Aggravated arson as described in subsection (a)(1) resulting in no substantial risk of bodily harm is a severity level 6, person felony.
(3) Aggravated arson as described in subsection (a)(2) is a severity level 3, person felony.
It adds a new modern spin to the nightmare if Little Ms. Muffet
Source: St. Louis CBS
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But if she burned her own unit then that would be half a duplex. So if she burned just half a duplex then she did not burn the neighbor’s half. You gotta go round the Dupont Circle.
I like the common law definition of Burning the dwelling place of another. If I recall, you could burn your own dwelling unless it was pledged as collateral.
Was this her first attempt at spider death by fire?