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PROVO — A Provo woman charged with killing two people in an apartment fire pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Yvette Kimber, 45, entered "not guilty" pleas in 4th District Court on two counts of murder and one count of aggravated arson, all first-degree felonies, in connection with the March 14 blaze.
Karen Murray and Catherine Crane were killed and another woman, Jeanette Spahr, was hospitalized following the fire, which took place at the Boulders Apartments, 750 S. 650 West.
Kimber's hearing had been postponed after attorneys indicated there may be a resolution in the case, but the woman apparently rejected the plea deal. Spahr attended the hearing, with the aid of a walker, and expressed frustration with Kimber's actions in court.
"She acted like she really didn't care," Spahr said. "I heard what she said — not guilty — and I kind of expected that to happen. In the long run, I wish she had said she would take the deal, but I expected the not guilty part, too. ... It is very upsetting."
Spahr said she was the last one out of the building the night of the fatal blaze. After having to evacuate out of her second-story unit, she was hospitalized with burns and a broken pelvis.
I had heard she was trying to commit suicide. If that was true, she should have stayed in the apartment and finished the job.
–Jeanette Spahr
"It's been a really tough six months," she said. "I'm just now really able to start walking with my walker."
She said she found the hearing to be "upsetting" and had strong words for Kimber.
"I had heard she was trying to commit suicide," Spahr said. "If that was true, she should have stayed in the apartment and finished the job."
Kimber called police the night of the fire, saying she was suicidal and going to overdose on medication, according to a police affidavit. One minute later, firefighters received a call reporting the blaze.
The women told officers at the scene, though, that she had fallen asleep holding a lit cigarette. She said she had been in a fight with her boyfriend earlier and started taking pills and drinking beer, the affidavit states. She also said she was smoking marijuana.
She told police that she was sitting on the love seat in her living room, smoking and looking at a basketball schedule, when she dropped the cigarette. The love seat heated up and a throw pillow on the seat caught on fire. She then ran next door to a neighbor's home to report the blaze.
"(Police) asked Yvette if she, because of her suicidal feelings, lit the fire on purpose," the affidavit states. "Yvette stated she did not know."
Email: emorgan@ksl.com
