A 38-year-old woman from Temple, Texas, received a six-year prison sentence on Thursday for her role in burning down a church in Washington State in 2023.
Natasha Marie Odell was sentenced following three felony convictions, as reported on Saturday.
According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Odell committed arson on August 25, 2023, targeting the Seattle Lastedian Lutheran Church (SLLC) in Snohomish County.
She was visiting a relative in Woodinville when the incident occurred, but authorities connected her to the crime via cell phone and credit card records, as well as surveillance footage.
The church was completely destroyed, leaving the congregation with damages exceeding $3.2 million. Additionally, one firefighter sustained injuries while battling the flames.
Remarkably, some security footage survived the fire, showing Odell moving around the church with red gas containers. In the video, she appears to pour gasoline on the church’s exterior walls and other areas before stepping out of the frame, where she can be seen igniting a fire in the area she had doused with fuel. Eventually, the fire caused the video system to malfunction.
Investigators found that Odell made credit card purchases at a nearby gas station and took an Uber to the church to carry out the arson.
Authorities noted that Odell had expressed her dissatisfaction with the church and had even told others about her intention to burn it down.
During the hearing, US District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead remarked, “The crime was devastating and dangerous. Ms. Odell purposely set the church on fire, causing total destruction… The scope of the destruction is phenomenal.”
