Why is fire the knee-jerk reaction for anger?
Often times, a news outlet reports some type of Arson charge. It typically runs rampant in big cities. Multiple media outlets reported on the same Arson a mere few weeks ago.
Taiga Russell of Gloucester Township, New Jersey — a city with more than 64,000 residents — allegedly set her ‘boy toy’s’ house on fire and tried to kill him. It was reported that Russell became enraged after the victim invited her over for the night but fell asleep before she arrived.
Multiple attempts to call and text him to wake him up were unsuccessful. So, the suspect allegedly texted him “I see you wanna die,” and set his house on fire. She was arrested and charged with Attempted Murder and Aggravated Arson.
Del City, Okla. has a population of more than 21,000, and is plagued with revenge arson cases. Annie Durham, a 59-year-old resident was arrested in June for two charges. She is accused of setting her neighbor’s house on fire and shooting it after months of arguments between the two.
The ironic twist in this case is Durham’s own security camera caught her breaking the law as she threw a flaming item across her fence at the neighbor’s house.
As evidenced above, Oklahoma is not immune to such crimes. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report, there were 734 Arson crimes for 2018. It went up 6% from 2017.
However, these types of crimes are not specific to larger towns or cities. Marshall County both Madill and Kingston, and the 2010 census shows their populations as 3,770 and 1,601 respectively.
In 2008, two Kingston residents were arrested because of an act of revenge arson. Chris Harris and Allen Boyer were accused of setting their neighbor, Anita Cook’s car on fire after a disagreement with a resident in her home. It was alleged that the two suspects lit a propane bottle on fire and threw it in her car after an altercation with Calvin Zachary, who was staying in her home.
Boyer was convicted of Conspiracy to Commit a Crime, and Harris was convicted of Third-Degree Arson and Conspiracy to Commit a Crime. According to an online search, Harris is currently wanted on a probation violation.
Brandon Curnutte of Kingston was arrested in 2015 after it was alleged, he robbed a house, then set fire to it. He is currently serving time for Second Degree Arson and Burglary.
Sometimes, the suspect will taunt the victim for years. On August 17, 2019, officers were dispatched to Sportsman Avenue in rural Marshall County on a report of a break in. Jay Fuller and his friends arrived at his house to find a woman, half naked and drunk, asleep in his bed.
After the shock wore off, he recognized the suspect. She was Leah Oxley, a former girlfriend of Fuller’s that he has not spoken to in quite some time. He alleges that in 2009, Oxley set his house on fire. Court records show that Oxley was arrested for Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon and Public Intoxication. However, the charges were dropped because Fuller could not be located.