Tenn. woman accused of killing her mother and intentionally setting home on fire
03/15/2023 11:58 am PDT
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (TCD) -- A 43-year-old woman stands accused of killing her 65-year-old mother, whose body was found in a burning house.
On Saturday, March 11, shortly before 6 p.m., the Kingsport Fire and Police Departments responded to a structure fire on the 2400 block of Westmoreland Avenue, where firefighters located a deceased female, later identified as Martha Dozier.
The victim's body was reportedly transported to the William L. Jenkins Forensic Center of the East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine in Johnson City for an autopsy.
Additionally, three pets died in the fire, WCYB-TV reports.
Upon further investigation, police determined the fire was "suspicious in nature," and the victim's daughter, Joie Dawes, left the home "within moments of the outbreak of the fire."
Police said investigators established probable cause to conclude that Dawes was "responsible for both the intentional death of her mother and the deliberate setting of the fire that followed."
Dawes was reportedly arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated arson, and tampering with evidence.
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