Inset: Elizabeth H. Radmacher (Louisville Metro Corrections). Background: The apartment complex Radmacher allegedly set ablaze in Louisville, Ky. (Google Maps).
A Kentucky woman is behind bars after setting her apartment building on fire because she faced eviction, Bluegrass State police say.
Elizabeth H. Radmacher, 68, stands accused of arson, wanton endangerment and criminal mischief, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The underlying incident occurred on March 14, at apartment building on Tazwell Drive in far northeast Louisville.
Around 3 a.m. on the night in question, the woman set the multi-unit structure alight, according to an arrest citation obtained by Louisville-based Fox affiliate WDRB and a criminal complaint affidavit from the Louisville Metro Arson Bureau obtained by NBC affiliate WAVE.
The defendant "intentionally" started the fire in her bedroom and then left the building, according to the affidavit.
As the flames licked and rose higher, other residents were forced to flee for their safety, law enforcement said.
While people watched their building burn outside, multiple witnesses and members of law enforcement said they heard Radmacher say "I'm going to kill everybody," according to the charging documents.
She also said someone else made her set the blaze, police claim.
At the time of the incident, Radmacher was in the process of being evicted, according to the arrest citation.
"I knock at the doors and told everybody to get out because the fire is coming," a neighbor told local CBS affiliate WLKY.
The inferno created a risk to multiple residents, including the people living directly above Radmacher, authorities said. At the time, around eight other tenants who were home were forced to leave the building.
It was the family of three living above the defendant that caused police to file the wanton endangerment and criminal mischief charges on top of the lone count of arson, according to law enforcement.
"I feel sorry for them," another neighbor told WLKY. "He had a kid up there, so he could have been badly burned or killed."
One person was transported to a nearby hospital as a result of the fire, police said.
In the end, the fire was controlled before it could spread far beyond Radmacher's own unit. A total of 29 firefighters from two different departments spent 19 minutes putting out the fire.
Still, the incident caused some $100,000 in damage, according to fire investigators.
Most residents were able to move back into the building without incident, but two were displaced due to damage from smoke and fire, Anchorage Middletown Fire Deputy Chief Matt Sutt told WDRB.
"It's a concern that our people could be potentially hurt or killed as well," Sutt said, stressing the danger to all involved.
The defendant is being detained in Louisville Metro Corrections on $50,000 bond.
Radmacher is next slated to appear in court on March 27.
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