A Rome man was arrested and charged with murder Saturday after officials say he intentionally set fire to a home in Floyd County, killing his stepmother and pets.
Timothy Edward Lary, 26, was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of cruelty to animals, three counts of arson, neglect to a disabled adult or elderly person, and criminal damage to property.
Rome police were called Saturday night to a house fire on Addington Court, where they found a woman trapped inside with flames coming out of the roof and around the front door.
Officers found Lary outside, shirtless. According to police, he and his father both told officers Lary had set the fire.
The father told officials that he and his wife rented the lot from Lary’s mother. The father said Lary believed the property should belong to him and wanted his mother to sell it so he could have the money, according to police.
Lary allegedly threatened to burn the house down while his father and stepmother were at work, but his father said Lary instead grabbed a bunch of papers, lit them on fire and threw them onto the mattress in his room.
Once the fire was extinguished, the body of 70-year-old Sara Lynn Lary was found along with two cats and a dog, according to police.
Timothy Edward Lary is being held in the Floyd County Jail without bond.
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