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SANDY — A Sandy woman was charged Friday with starting a large apartment complex fire in Sandy in order to burn away "negative energy." Prosecutors say she was also trying to go "viral."
Crystal Nicole Moss, 37, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony.
Moss is accused of intentionally starting a fire at a three-story apartment complex — the Liberty Heights Apartments complex, 8176 S. 1300 East, where she also lived — about 3 a.m. on Sunday
Damage from the fire left six units uninhabitable. Two Sandy police officers already in the area were able to wake up tenants and get them out of the burning building by banging on doors. Both officers were later be treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital.
When Moss was arrested, a police booking affidavit stated that she claimed she "intentionally used a Bic lighter to ignite a tree of life" in her bedroom. But because it was hard to ignite, "she poured a bottle of alcohol on it to speed up the process. Crystal said the intent was to burn away the negative energy, sadness and pain in her life," the affidavit states.
Charging documents filed on Friday further add that Moss told police she added rubbing alcohol and other materials to the fire because it "was not big enough," and the reason she started it was "to get attention from everybody and to get the attention of a man."
"Moss told officers she was trying to get rid of negative energy as well as trying to gain attention and go 'viral.' Moss was incoherent through much of her interview and her responses evidenced serious mental health issues," the charging documents state.
