Crime & Safety
Woman Who Burned Down Parents' Mansion Acquitted Due To Mental Illness: Report
She used a candle and gasoline to set the $3.3 million mansion on Lake Minnetonka ablaze, and also attacked her mother, authorities said.
LAKE MINNETONKA, MN — A 21-year-old accused of burning down her parents’ multimillion-dollar home was acquitted Wednesday due to mental illness, according to the Star Tribune.
Sophia C. Schultz was charged with arson and assault but received a not guilty verdict on the grounds of “mental defect,” her attorney said, the Tribune reported.
Schultz used a candle and gasoline to set the $3.3 million mansion on Lake Minnetonka ablaze, and also attacked her mother, who called 911 and said her daughter “was going crazy” and had “significant mental health issues,” according to authorities.
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Schultz told responding emergency personnel “that she heard a demon speak to her,” a criminal complaint said. She is now receiving treatment, according to her attorney, who said she is “doing fabulously,” the Tribune reported.
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