SUV burned for insurance money; 2 charged

A Marietta man is behind bars after police say he was paid $200 to burn a woman’s 2008 Toyota 4Runner so she could collect the insurance money.

John Edward Winfree, 27, was arrested Thursday on a first-degree arson charge. He is in the Cobb County Jail on $30,000 bond.

Cobb County Sheriff's Office

Nadine Dominique.

Cobb County Sheriff's Office

John Edward Winfree.

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Winfree is accused of setting fire to Nadine Dominique’s vehicle earlier this month. Dominique, of Hiram, is also charged with first-degree arson. She is out on bond.

“She wanted to get rid of it,” said Marietta fire investigator Jess Zerbe.

Zerbe said a good Samaritan reported the Jan. 13 fire, which the pair allegedly set around 8 p.m. at 787 Roswell Street in Marietta, near Roswell Street Baptist Church, authorities said.

Dominique, 47, was arrested the next day after reporting the fire to Paulding County authorities, Zerbe said.

According to her arrest warrant, Dominique confessed to hiring Winfree to set her car on fire so she could collect the insurance money and pay off the loan for the vehicle.