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Leslie G. Truitt, the 100 block of East Chestnut of Ephrata, is accused of "placing belongings of a former resident in her bathtub and setting them on fire," the police stated in the release and Daily Voice reported. The 70-year-old woman has been charged with arson and cruelty to animals.
Her teenage neighbor and his stepdad rescued her and one of her dogs when the fire alarms went off at 5:05 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9, as Daily Voice reported at the time.
When they got into the home Truitt "would not listen" and the stepfather had to "physically force Truitt down the stairs and then jump down and run outside behind her."
The boy suffered second-degree burns and melted hair, so he was also taken to the hospital for care, according to the affidavit of probable cause. His stepfather was unharmed.
The neighbors also rescued one of her four dogs, and firefighters later rescued another, but the other two perished in the blaze, police explained in the affidavit.
When officials arrived Truitt was in the street screaming, "with her arms raised as if cheering or offering praise," police wrote in the affidavit. She said "let it burn" and "burn it Satan," among other similar phrases police explained.
"The Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal concluded that the fire was intentionally set, with the bathtub in the second-floor bathroom identified as the point of origin," the Ephrata police said.
She has admitted to starting the fire, according to the affidavit, telling police that she was mad at her husband. She had placed his possessions and papers into the bathtub on the second floor and then started them on fire, she told police while receiving care from EMS. She was the sole occupant of the home.
It seems like an extremely dangerous version of the ex-boyfriend "cleansing ritual" seen on the sitcom Friends (see a clip in the player below), as not only was Truitt and her neighbor hurt, and two of her dogs killed, but the fire spread to another home that was occupied, according to the affidavit.
Truitt, was still in the hospital at the time of reporting but "will be arraigned upon the completion of her treatment," the police concluded. Her arms were "significantly burned" and her hair was
She is a Penn State graduate who previously was a Care Manager at Lancaster County Office of Aging before her retirement, according to her social media.
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