Woman convicted of setting 2 homes on fire after wife left her

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - A Cullman woman has been convicted of setting fire to two Montgomery homes after becoming upset that her former spouse left her, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

A Montgomery County jury found Jameelah Anderson guilty of one count of first-degree arson and one count of second-degree arson. Both incidents happened during the early morning hours of July 14, 2020.

The DA’s office said Anderson drove from Cullman to a house on Park Boulevard in Montgomery where she suspected her then-wife might be staying with relatives. She reportedly attempted to set the residence ablaze by throwing a bottle of flammable liquid at the home while the family was sleeping inside — but it did not catch on fire.

Officials said Anderson then went to a home on Lauderdale Street owned by another member of her wife’s family. That’s where authorities said she set a fire in the carport that spread and completely engulfed the home. No one was inside of the residence at the time of the fire.

“Jameelah Anderson was purely vindictive. She allowed blind rage to take the place of common sense,” said District Attorney Daryl Bailey. “It’s no surprise that when presented with all the facts and evidence, it took the jury less than an hour to find her guilty of arson. She destroyed a hard-working citizen’s home and could have potentially killed several innocent people. As such, my office will ask that she receive the maximum sentence allowed.”

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!