Investigators suspect a woman with a grudge against her estranged husband set fire to his new girlfriend’s house while her kids were inside the home.
According to WBRZ, things escalated after Shannon Blackson, 40, got into a car accident with her husband and his current girlfriend, on April 2nd, according to a warrant from the Baton Rouge Fire Department.
Blackson told police that after the accident, she pursued her husband to a hotel on College Drive and questioned him. That day, Blackson’s car and the victim’s car were both parked at the same auto body shop where the husband worked.
According to the arrest documents, Blackson then used her mother’s car to “check” on her car. Workers at the body shop later said that when they went to work in the morning, Blackson’s car had been taken and the victim’s car had been desecrated.
Eyewitness confirmed seeing an unusual car outside the victim’s home on Howell Drive the same evening. According to fire department investigators, the house was then set ablaze about 2 a.m. on April 3.
A Molotov cocktail-like object was hurled into the building, according to an eyewitness. The victim’s two daughters, ages 12 and 3, were present at the time but escaped uninjured.
After speaking with the victim and Blackson’s former husband, law enforcement officers learned that Blackson had been tormenting them. They showed investigators disturbing text messages and social media posts Blackson sent the day of the fire, including one that said, “f*** them kids” and “Dnt play wit me Play wit yo kids (laugh emoji) I’m gon win everytime.”
Blackson eluded police forces until Monday, April 26, when she was apprehended. She was arrested on suspicion of aggravated arson, terrorizing, and simple criminal property damage.
