Woman charged with arson after ‘flipping out’ and burning down Stearns County residence

A North Dakota woman has been charged with arson for burning down a home, according to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office.

According to court documents, Jamie Morin, 40, admitted to starting the fire with a torch after reportedly “flipping out.”

On Thursday, April 6, around 2:11 p.m., the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center received a report of a building fire.

Stearns County Deputies and the Upsala, Freeport and Holdingford Fire Departments responded to the 43900 block of 248th Ave. in Krain Township.

Responders arrived to find the residence fully engulfed in flames.

Deputies discovered no one was inside the residence, but the building was considered a complete loss.

As the fire was being put out, the owner of the residence arrived and told authorities that Morin had been living with him for about a month. The man said he left for work around 7:30 a.m. and Morin was the only person at the residence.

A neighbor driving down 248th Ave. saw a woman, later identified as Morin, walking on the road and brought her back to the scene of the fire, as stated in court records.

Morin was taken into custody for questioning and later arrested for first-degree arson.

Morin told authorities she “flipped out” and started burning a pile of clothes in the laundry room with a propane tank torch. She proceeded to light other items in the house on fire.

Members of the Sheriff’s Office noticed that Morin seemed to be impaired.

The arson is being investigated by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Morin has an omnibus hearing scheduled for April 27.