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SALT LAKE CITY — A woman awaiting trial for her alleged role in a decadelong abuse case is now charged with setting her house on fire.
Larissa Esperanza Wade, 40, of Kearns, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony; two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person and drug possession, third-degree felonies; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.
On Oct. 5, Unified police and firefighters were called to a house fire near 5100 South and 5100 West. Flames and smoke were coming from the house when the first crews arrived, according to charging documents.
Wade, who was standing outside the house when emergency crews arrived, told firefighters that her live-in boyfriend and daughters were still inside, the charges state. But after putting out the fire, no one else was found in the home.
Investigators then determined the fire was set in four different locations inside the house, the charges state, including in a utility room and an upstairs bathroom, and a Molotov cocktail was found in a downstairs bedroom, the charges state.
Damage to the home was estimated at $75,000.
When interviewed by police, Wade said she got into an argument with her boyfriend who threw a TV at her. She then claimed she threw a lit cigarette into a pile of clothes and lit candles throughout the home, according to charging documents. The boyfriend allegedly admitted throwing a TV, but said he then left the house because Wade “was doing weird things and acting crazy.”
While an officer was taking Wade into custody, he noted that she was acting “erratic” and asked if she was OK.
Related:
Woman awaiting trial arrested after setting house on fire, police say
A woman already awaiting trial for her role in a decadelong abuse case was arrested again over the weekend after police say she set her house on fire.“Yeah, but I need my meds. No meds, no meth, no good,” she replied, according to the charges.
In her purse, police reported finding four bags of methamphetamine. In the master bedroom, agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported finding two guns.
In February, Wade was charged with witness tampering and obstructing justice in a separate case that involved her husband.
Arthur Robert Wade, 48, was charged in 3rd District Court with four counts of rape, two counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child, two counts of sodomy on a child and three counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies, and five other crimes. He is accused of sexually abusing at least four girls ranging in age between 12 and 17 over the past 10 years in Utah, Colorado and Nevada, according to Unified police.
Wade pleaded guilty in August to aggravated sexual abuse of a child and forcible sodomy, both first-degree felonies, plus witness tampering, a third-degree felony.
Larissa Wade told police she had evidence of the crimes, but then purposely deleted that recorded information from her phone and told one of the girls not to testify, charging documents state.
She is scheduled to go to trial in November.
