Grundy County woman charged with setting house fire that killed dog
GRUNDY COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has arrested a woman for intentionally setting fire to a house Grundy County this summer. One person escaped from the house, but a dog died in the fire.
Police arrested 53-year-old Melissa Kay Barks on Thursday after she was indicted in November.
The TBI, Altamont Fire Department and Grundy County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the fire on June 14.
It happened at a house on Besstown Road in Beersheba Springs, the TBI said.
TBI agents said the fire was intentionally set, and they started investigating it as an arson.
Authorities said Barks was responsible for setting the fire. They added that she knew the dog was in the house at the time of the fire.
Barks faces charges of aggravated arson, arson and felony cruelty to animals, according to the TBI.
They booked her into the Grundy County Jail with a $75,000 bond.
