Inset: Deonna Presbury (Hennepin County Jail). Background: Apartment fire in Minneapolis, Minnesota, allegedly set by Presbury (WCCO/YouTube).
A woman from Minnesota is currently facing charges of murder and arson following an incident where she set fire to an apartment building after a dispute with her ex-boyfriend. Tragically, this act led to the deaths of two unrelated residents who were not involved in the argument.
The fire occurred late in the evening on August 13 in an apartment complex located on the 1500 block of 11th Avenue in Minneapolis. Emergency responders arrived to find flames engulfing the building. Firefighters had to employ 40-foot engine ladders to rescue two individuals trapped in their fourth-floor units. These individuals sustained burn injuries and required hospitalization. Fire crews managed to extinguish the fire and conducted a thorough search of the premises, confirming that no other individuals were left inside the building.
But that was not the case.
Property manager David Hollmon told local CBS affiliate WCCO that he realized he hadn’t seen one of his tenants in roughly two days after the fire.
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“I went to the fire department and told them, ‘Hey I think one of my tenants is still in there,”” Hollmon said.
Upon a subsequent search, emergency personnel discovered the bodies of Kerry Sims, aged 66, and Debbie Leshelle Allen, aged 59, buried under collapsed sections of the roof. A medical examination determined that the cause of death for both individuals was “inhalation of the products of combustion.”
Meanwhile, detectives quickly realized the fire was no accident. Arson investigators determined the fire was started in two different locations on the second floor, the probable cause affidavit said. The first point of origin was in front of apartment 203 near a pair of pink Rollerblades and a bicycle. The second was near the stairwell adjacent to a carpeted area, which quickly spread up the walls to the fourth floor, the affidavit said.
Detectives spoke with the occupant of the apartment in question who said he had been arguing with his ex-girlfriend, identified as 35-year-old Deonna Marie Presbury. He said Presbury was yelling at him from the hallway outside his apartment. She was allegedly demanding some of her items that were inside his apartment, including the Rollerblades and bike.
A woman inside the apartment said she heard Presbury allegedly yell: “I’m gonna burn this motherf—er down … you got me messed up … I’m gonna kill this motherf—er.” An occupant of a neighboring apartment heard the suspect say something similar, cops said. Moments later, the witnesses smelled smoke and the fire quickly spread from there.
While the ex-boyfriend was speaking with cops, he called her and put the phone on speaker. When he suggested she was responsible, she allegedly responded “Love will f— you up anytime.”
Security camera footage from within the building reportedly shows Presbury leaving with a bag of clothing. She walked outside wearing a blue rubber glove and smoking a cigarette, the affidavit said. Calls about the fire came in to dispatch not long thereafter, cops noted.
Detectives later learned this allegedly wasn’t the first time she set something on fire. She was accused of torching other property belonging to her ex-boyfriend and was known to carry a torch lighter. Cops believe the torch lighter could have been the device used to set the apartment fire, the affidavit said. She denied setting the fire in a post-Miranda interview with detectives, claiming she was nowhere near the building during the time in question and only learned of the blaze from the news.
Presbury was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on Sunday morning on a $1 million bond. She’s charged with two counts of second-degree murder and three counts of first-degree arson. Her next court date is scheduled for Feb. 26.
