Woman suspect in fire that ended inauguration trip

A Forsyth County woman who claimed her house was burned down because she supported President Obama is now suspected of setting the fire herself, authorities said Wednesday.

The homeowner, Pamela Graf, 47, had not been charged late Wednesday in connection with the fire, which occurred the weekend before the presidential inauguration.

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Forsyth County Sheriff's Office

Pamela Graf

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But she was in jail on unrelated drug charges, said Capt. Jason Shivers, spokesman for the Forsyth County Fire Department. Shivers confirmed Wednesday that Graf and her boyfriend, Steve Strobel, 46, of Winder, are “both officially labeled as a suspect” in the Jan. 18 fire at Graf’s five-bedroom, 2,900-square-foot house north of Cumming.

Fire officials said Graf told them she was in Washington, D.C., to attend the inaugural when the fire broke out, but rushed back home when she heard what happened.

Racially charged graffiti was spray-painted on a fence near the property, and investigators said Graf told them she had received a threatening note after she put an Obama campaign sign in her yard.

Graf and Strobel were arrested late Tuesday night when Forsyth County fire investigators executed search warrants at a motel in Cumming where Graf has been staying and at a place in Barrow County where Strobel has been residing, Shivers said.

“We were in search of fruits of the crime of arson,” said Steve Anderson, the fire department’s chief of investigations.

Graf was charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor for possession of cocaine and marijuana, Shivers said.

Strobel was charged with obstruction of justice and with making false statements to investigators about the fire, the spokesman said.

Graf’s father, William Morrow of Cumming, said he only heard of his daughter’s arrest Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m just disappointed,” Morrow said. “I don’t think she’s the one who did it.”

Shivers and Anderson said investigators are continuing to run down leads in the case and could file additional charges in the next few days.