A Michigan woman is set to stand trial for the June 2022 deadly arson that killed a man with investigators revealing that she lit the victim's home on fire to “exorcise demons.”
39-year-old Tyeshia Damita Minor was spotted by a neighbor at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell on June 14, 2022 moments before it became engulfed in flames.
At the time of the incident, victim Charles James and housemate Tyrone Jones were inside the upstairs apartment.
James, 64, died from the inhalation of toxic smoke while Jones, 49, managed to escape through a bathroom window.
Investigators said that the residents of the apartment knew Minor and used to help her with money.
Minor allegedly admitted to using a lighter and a cigarette carton to start the fire but her lawyer, Val Foster, said that the evidence linking Minor to the deadly blaze was insufficient.
“The only evidence that links this to my client is from a police officer who refuses to acknowledge this woman has a deep mental health issue,” Foster said.
