A Texas woman who set fire to a Snohomish County church in 2023, causing more than $3.2 million in damage, will spend the next six years behind bars.
Natasha O’Dell, 38, of Temple, Texas, was sentenced in Seattle federal court on Thursday, Sept. 4, after pleading guilty to arson, damaging religious property, and obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs.
O’Dell admitted to using more than a gallon of gasoline and a lighter to torch the Seattle Laestadian Lutheran Church in Maltby on Aug. 25, 2023. Surveillance video showed her pouring fuel on the church’s exterior and surrounding items before the blaze consumed the building.
“This offense was devastating and dangerous,” US District Judge Jamal Whitehead said at sentencing. “You burned down the spiritual home of a congregation. The wounds you have inflicted deepen for each day they are away from their home.”
O’Dell was in Washington visiting family in Woodinville at the time. She purchased gas and lighters at a nearby service station before taking an Uber to the church. Investigators linked her to the fire through cell phone data, credit card records, and the surviving video footage.
Acting US Attorney Teal Luthy Miller called O’Dell’s actions reckless. “This conduct put anyone inside the church, the neighbors around the church, and the firefighters who responded in extreme danger. It is fortunate that only one firefighter suffered injuries,” Miller said.
According to court documents, O’Dell told acquaintances she was angry at churches and specifically at the Maltby congregation. She later claimed she planned to burn another nearby church.
The fire destroyed the church and forced members to rent space at a local middle school for services. The court will determine the amount of restitution O’Dell must pay at a later date.
The case was investigated by the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
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