Inset: Mahogany Ashley Massey. Background: University Ridge apartment complex in Durham, N.C. (WTVD/YouTube).
A 31-year-old North Carolina woman allegedly set fire to an apartment complex where her mother and brother lived as part of a "people to kill list."
Mahogany Ashley Massey is charged with first-degree arson and three counts of assault with serious bodily injury, along with three other counts of arson that results in serious injury to a firefighter.
The Durham Fire Department responded around 11 a.m. on Sunday to a fire at the University Ridge apartment complex. Crews arrived to find heavy fire conditions. Flames shot through the roof and it took about an hour to control the fire.
Seven people were injured, five of whom had to be rushed to the hospital.
Authorities quickly determined the cause of the fire was arson and identified Massey as the alleged culprit, taking her into custody. According to courtroom reports from local NBC affiliate WRAL and ABC affiliate WTVD, prosecutors at Massey's arraignment said cops found a "people to kill list" in her belongings.
Massey had also previously tried to set fire to the apartment complex, per cops.
Prosecutors said Massey's mother is still hospitalized with "severe smoke inhalation." Her brother nearly bled out when he severed an artery on a piece of glass while trying to rescue his mom, prosecutors stated.
Massey's father spoke with WTVD and said his daughter is a paranoid schizophrenic who has refused to take her medicine for months.
"I couldn't make her take the medication. I couldn't force her to take the medication," Daron Massey said. "I'd have her involuntarily committed and they would release her."
The suspect remained on scene during the fire and watched as her mother was loaded into an ambulance.
"Any normal person would say, 'That's my mom. She's getting in an ambulance. Let me run over and see what's wrong,'" the father told the TV station. "She sat on the wall, looked at her, smoked a cigarette and drank a beer. Didn't run or move. Just watched what was going on like everybody else."
Mahogany Massey's defense attorney reportedly told the judge his client should receive mental health treatment instead of jail. Massey interrupted the hearing multiple times and the judge continued without her.
She remains in the Durham County Jail without bond. Her next court date is set for July 2.