Texas woman sentenced to 6 years in prison for setting Washington state church on fire
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A Texas woman was sentenced to six years in prison in connection with a 2023 arson attack on a church in Washington state, according to federal prosecutors.

Natasha Marie O’Dell, 38, was sentenced Thursday on three felonies for the arson of Seattle Laestadian Lutheran Church in Snohomish County, Washington, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced.

O’Dell pleaded guilty earlier this year to arson, damage to religious property and obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs.

“This offense was devastating and dangerous,” U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead said at the sentencing hearing on Thursday. “Ms. O’Dell deliberately set fire to a church, causing complete destruction.”

Fire truck

Part of the security system’s video surveillance survived the fire and captured the woman moving around the church with a gasoline container. (Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue)

The fire resulted in more than $3.2 million in damages to the church, which has incurred additional costs by renting a nearby middle school to hold their services multiple times a week.

A firefighter was injured while fighting the flames and was transported to an emergency room.

“Ms. O’Dell acted with extreme disregard for community safety when she poured more than a gallon of gasoline on the church building and used a lighter to start the blaze,” Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller said in a statement. “This conduct put anyone inside the church, the neighbors around the church, and the firefighters who responded in extreme danger. It is fortunate that only one firefighter suffered injuries.”

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