Laramie Woman Accused Of Torching Her Own House While Entertaining Guests
A Laramie woman who had invited a mother and son to stay with her was reportedly acting “erratically” and saying she’d burn her trailer house shortly before it caught fire with her guests inside.
Accused of lighting her own trailer-house on fire while two house guests visited, a Laramie woman could face up to 20 years in prison.
Kenley Kilgore, who turns 31 this year, is charged with one count of first-degree arson, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Her case rose to the felony-level Albany County District Court last week, and she’s scheduled to give a plea March 19.
Kilgore had invited two other people — a mother and son — to stay with her in her trailer sometime before the morning of Feb. 2, says an evidentiary affidavit by Laramie Police Department Officer Carson Schilt.
The mother and son planned to stay with Kilgore for several days. They arrived about 9:15 a.m. on Feb. 2, the mother later told police.
Kilgore reportedly had been acting strangely all morning and talking about catching things on fire.
The son told police that Kilgore was behaving “erratically” and that she said she’d burn the house down if her guests left. She was walking around the trailer with a box of matches, lighting them and throwing them down on items throughout the house, he said.
Back Into The Fire
The mother went into a back room with Kilgore and the son fell asleep on the couch.
When the mother went to the room where her son was, she soon saw smoke flowing from the middle room of the trailer house. One minute later, Kilgore walked through the smoke into the living room, seemingly unconcerned about the fire, the affidavit says.
The son told police that Kilgore was chatting mildly about the fire.
The mother and son ran outside. The mother brought her coat with her, which had her ID and her wallet in it.
Kilgore grabbed the coat and took it back into the fire, the mother told police later.
The son ran and retrieved fire extinguishers and ran back in toward the fiery room. He tried to open the door, but the handle was too hot, says the affidavit. So, he went back outside.
The Laramie Fire Department responder interviewed Kilgore on scene, and she mentioned lighting a piece of artwork on fire and throwing it in a trash can, says the document.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
