A two-storey house at Kingsley Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB) was on Saturday destroyed by fire which was deliberately set by a 19-year-old woman who is reportedly mentally ill.
According to information received, the two-storey wooden and concrete property belonged to Jean Harte and was occupied by her and her daughter-in-law who is of unsound mind.
The house that was destroyed by fire
However, on the day in question at about 11:00h, the daughter-in-law informed Harte that she had lit a mattress in one of the bedrooms on the lower floor of the house.
In a panic, the woman rushed to the lower flat where she observed smoke and immediately started to disconnect the gas cylinders. After doing so, the suspect and the victim both ran out of the house, and within minutes the fire had engulfed the bedroom and other sections of the house.
The fire service was summoned and upon arrival extinguished the fire but by that time, the building was gutted. The mentally ill woman was later arrested.
