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PROVO — A newly married couple, a single mother, and a family with three children each told a judge how they were forced to evacuate their home in the early hours of the morning as fire engulfed their possessions.
Each family said the emotional toll, and the loss of security and trust they have felt since those arson fires destroyed their homes in late 2022 has been significant.
Calliope Jacox Mlynar, 20, who uses the pronouns he and him, was sentenced Thursday to a term of five years to life in prison for aggravated arson, a first-degree felony.
Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield explained that although Mlynar only pleaded guilty to causing one fire, the serial arsonist also agreed to take some financial responsibility for six other fires — ending the investigation into multiple fires near Centennial Apartments, where Mlynar lived, in Provo between August and December of 2022, including multiple fires on both Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Lost homes and security
Three sons and a mother each told the court about their experience leaving their home and looking back to see it engulfed in flames. The teenage boys talked about being called names in school because of the fire.
"The wrongful actions of one person changed our life completely," said Elijah Molinaro, the youngest son.
Elizabeth Molinaro said she, her children and her neighbors are part of the "unnamed and unprosecuted victims." She said the neighbors purchased security cameras and lighting to try and improve their ability to sleep. She said their bubble was burst and can't be fixed.
"I vividly recall the moment my children learned they are not safe in their own home," she told the judge.
Luke Gleve, a new husband, said on Dec. 20, 2022, he and his wife heard loud noises and thought it was gunfire. He said their garage and everything in it was destroyed, but cars can be replaced.
"The innocent sense of security that was taken away as someone set our home on fire while we were inside of it is not so easily restored," he said.
Claire Hart woke up early in the morning on Thanksgiving to a persistent sound and saw smoke. She wrapped her daughter in a blanket and carried the 5-year-old out of the home and they watched it burn.
"I will never, ever forget that night. I'll never forget escaping the fire with my daughter," she said.
They watched all of their belongings, the life she had worked to build as a single mother, be destroyed by fire and water. The fire took a huge emotional toll and she is working to rebuild their lives.
Deputy Utah County attorney Julia Thomas said Mlynar's connection to most of the fires could not be proven, and there was not enough evidence to order him to stand trial on one fire they previously charged him with. She said Mlynar has an "alarming diagnosis" of psychopathy and a combination of animal torture and arson, which are common among people who go on to commit more horrible crimes.
"An entire neighborhood was terrorized by this defendant. They didn't know when a fire was going to strike next; they didn't know why they were being targeted, they didn't understand," Thomas said.
'Unreasonable risk'
Schofield said the seven fires accounted for in the plea bargain, including the one Mlynar pleaded guilty to, are not the only fires they believe are related to the case. He said fires stopped after Mlynar was arrested on Dec. 27, 2022.
He said the case took hundreds of staff hours, and multiple fire departments came to help fight the blazes. He talked about one firefighter who described retrieving documents and a blanket from the Molinaro home shortly before Christmas and told him afterward, "Chief, you've got to stop this."
Schofield said Mlynar is the fifth serial arsonist he has encountered in his career, but the only one he has lost sleep over.
Schofield said the fires were started with an ignitable liquid, like gasoline, and Mlynar only knew the occupants affected at one of the multiple fires at Centennial apartments. Ultimately the information that led to Mlynar's arrest was the key fob that was used to access the Centennial apartments laundry room where a fire was set on Christmas Day.
He said the community is still on edge, and a recent fire led many people to reach out to him asking about arson.
"This really caused a lot of insecurity," Schofield said.
He told the judge Mlynar represents a "clear, immediate and unreasonable risk" to the neighborhood and the community after starting multiple fires when people were sleeping and responses were slower.
Judge says Mlynar 'intended to kill people'
After hearing from the victims of the fires, 4th District Judge Robert Lunnen decided to issue a sentence that was more severe than the one recommended by the attorneys in the plea agreement, and it matched the requests of multiple victims.
Mlynar also pleaded guilty to assaulting a prisoner at the Utah County Jail, a third-degree felony, in a separate case, and Lunnen sentenced him to a term of zero to five years in prison for that charge. Lunnen ordered the sentence to run consecutive to the sentence for aggravated arson, and declined to give Mlynar credit for time already served in jail.
Mlynar spoke before the sentence, telling those in the courtroom: "I was not trying to kill anyone."
"Nobody was even hurt in the slightest, at least not physically," he said.
Mlynar said improper medication and bipolar disorder were factors impacting his actions and told the judge a prison sentence would only make things worse.
Lunnen said Mlynar did not show any empathy or remorse for his actions.
The judge said these fires were in situations where they would be more likely to cause deaths, they were repeated, and they involved people Mlynar did not know. The judge said he believes, based on the circumstances, that Mlynar "intended to kill people."
