BOONE COUNTY — A Boone County woman and her husband are facing charges after a multi-year investigation into a fire that was intentionally set at a home in Indianapolis back in 2020.
Leslee Pettit-Myers, 51, has been charged with felony arson and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Her husband, Michael G. Myers, 49, is charged with obstruction of justice.
IDHS says the fire was first reported by a neighbor on Dec. 10, 2020 in the 7000 block of West 93rd Street. That neighbor told detectives that he saw a white vehicle drive away from the scene right before he saw the fire. Fire crews arrived and put out the fire. They later determined an accelerant had been used on the first floor of the residence.
Investigators spoke to other neighbors who also reported seeing the same vehicle at the property before the fire and witnessed it crash into a nearby street sign as it left the area, according to IDHS. One neighbor was able to provide a partial license plate from the car, which was eventually traced back to Pettit-Myers. Her cell phone records also placed her in the area of the arson at the time it occurred.
Further investigation found that Myers took a white 2016 Tesla Model X to a repair shop in Louisville, Ky. sometimes after the arson for extensive front-end damage. An employee of the business told investigators that the driver told them an "unauthorized person" was driving the car and caused the damage and that he did not want to turn it in to his insurance company.
A Tesla representative was also able to confirm from the event data recorder inside the vehicle that a crash had taken place around the same time as the arson.
It was later determined that the site of the arson was adjacent to a home that has previously belonged to Pettit-Myers' parents and she had been in a previous altercation with the homeowner of the house that was set on fire while she was trying to sell her parents home after their death in 2018.
Both Pettit-Myers and Myers were formally charged on June 15, 2023.
Investigators encourage anyone with information about a potential arson to call the Indiana Arson Hotline at 800-382-4628 or email TIPS1@dhs.in.gov.
