Authorities: Florida mom set house on fire as family slept

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – A Jacksonville mother has been charged with arson after authorities say she set fire to a home as her son and several family members slept inside.

According to an arrest warrant, family members asked 32-year-old Arlesha Mathis to move out of the house where she has been living with her mother and other family.

The warrant says the woman’s mother and others heard Mathis say “if she couldn’t live there that she was going to fix was living it so no one could live there.”

The Florida Times-Union reported Friday that her son told Jacksonville Sheriff’s investigators he saw his mother pour lighter fluid over a sleeping bag in the tub. She allegedly then dropped a candle on it and left the home as 10 family members slept.

It’s unclear if Mathis has an attorney.