Linda Carella {BSO}
A 79-year-old woman was arrested and charged with arson Tuesday after authorities said she purposely set fire to her Tamarac home, according to court records.
Linda Carella, of Northwest 46th Way, was found unresponsive by Tamarac Fire Rescue firefighters as her home burned on January 4 around 10:40 a.m., an arrest report states.
With part of the home engulfed in flames and all the doors locked, firefighters had broken open the front door to make entry. They found Carella on the floor of the home and rushed her to Broward Health Medical Center with severe smoke inhalation and related injuries. Her injuries were considered critical and life-threatening at the time, authorities said.
Inside the scorched home, a fire marshal and BSO crime scene detectives found five separate places where fires appeared to have been intentionally set, according to the report. Authorities also found five gas cans, bottles of lighter fluid, and cooking oil in the living room.
Places where fires were set included the cushions on a couch, a chair, the bathtub, and the garage, records show. Neighbors said they had heard an explosion before they called 911.
An investigation revealed Carella was being evicted after her home was foreclosed upon for non-payment of $2,500 in HOA fees, the report states. With the cost of lawyers, her debt had risen to $8,000, the records show.
Carella had been served an eviction notice the day before the fire and given 24 hours to vacate the premises, authorities said. Investigators believe the alleged arson was also an act of attempted suicide.
Authorities said the burned home lost $140,000 in value due to the blaze, and the new owner wished to prosecute Carella.
Carella regained consciousness several days after the fire and was arrested Tuesday – more than four months after the alleged crime, records show.
She was booked into the Broward Main Jail and is being held without bond Thursday.
Got News? Send it to Tamarac Talk. Don’t miss reading Margate Talk, Coral Springs Talk, and Coconut Creek Talk.