Cats killed in arson fire
Asheville, NC (US)Incident Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011
County: Buncombe
Charges: Felony CTA, Felony Non-CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Laurel Caroline Bishop
Animal cruelty charges against an Asheville woman stem from a fire that investigators allege the woman set at her home on Hemphill Road.
Three cats belonging to a man who lived at the home were killed in the fire Saturday, said Buddy Thompson, head of the Asheville-Buncombe Arson Task Force.
Thompson said investigators charged Laurel Caroline Bishop, 58, of Asheville, with second-degree arson. She also faces charges of felony animal cruelty, according to Lt. Kevin Calhoun, who oversees animal control for the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department.
Thompson said the man was living at the home, but he and Bishop "were no longer in a relationship."
Bishop is charged with setting the man's bedroom on fire. He was not at home at the time of the fire.
Bishop reportedly took three puppies that were inside the home and placed them outside, Thompson said.
After firefighters arrived, they discovered the three dead cats inside the home. The animals were submitted for a necropsy. Calhoun said investigators were still awaiting those results. References |
