The State Fire Marshal’s Office has arrested a New Iberia woman in connection with a fire at her house in September 2018.
The SFM Office says that 29-year-old Michelle Smith was booked into the Iberia Parish Jail on one count each of Simple Arson and Insurance Fraud.
In February, another woman 37-year-old Victoria Smith was booked on one count of Insurance Fraud in the case. In the early morning hours of September 3, 2018 the New Iberia Fire Department responded to a house fire located in the 400 block of Texaco Street. Investigators say the home was unoccupied and for sale at the time of the fire, due to the owners, Victoria and Michelle Smith, going through a break-up.
After assessing the scene, investigators say they determined the fire was intentionally set. Through the course of the investigation, SFM deputies gathered evidence identifying Michelle Smith as the person responsible for setting the fire, while Victoria Smith filed an insurance claim for losses. Those loses she claimed were determined to not have been in the home at the time of the fire.
Smith was taken into custody on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
