Tyeshia Damita Minor, 39, allegedly set fire to an outdoor stairwell at a two-apartment home at 1205 Bridge Street NW in Grand Rapids on June 14, 2022. The blaze resulted in the death of Charles James, 64, who lived in the upstairs apartment.

A Grand Rapids detective testified in court on January 10 that Minor had talked about attempting to exorcise demons during an interview, reported news outlet MLive.

At the probable cause hearing on Tuesday, Minor was ordered to stand trial on charges of first-degree arson and felony murder.

James and Tyrone Jones, 49, had been in the apartment when the fire started in the early hours of the morning. Both men knew Minor and Jones would occasionally give her money while James would allow her to shower at his apartment, according to MLive.

The two men tried to escape via a bathroom window. Jones jumped out and was expecting James to do the same. James did not jump, however, and later died.

A medical examiner testified that the 64-year-old’s cause of death was inhalation of toxic smoke.

When Minor was first arrested, she is said to have denied any involvement in the fire.

In a later police interview, on June 20, Minor allegedly said she used a lighter to set a cigarette carton on fire outside James’ apartment door, according to court testimony obtained by MLive.

Susan Lock, who lived in the downstairs apartment, said she had heard what sounded like someone running down the stairs and looked out of a window.

She testified that she saw Minor close to the bottom of the stairwell and then saw the fire. She added: “The stairs were engulfed in flames.”

Minor’s defense attorney Val Foster said there was not sufficient evidence to link Minor to the blaze.

Foster said: “The only evidence that links this to my client is from a police officer who refuses to acknowledge this woman (Minor) has a deep mental health issue.”

Newsweek has contacted the Grand Rapids Police Department for comment.

According to the most recent Michigan government statistics, there were 1,470 reports of arson and 1,181 victims of the offense in 2021.

It added that there were 686 incidents of murder and non-negligent voluntary manslaughter across the state that year and that 288 of the cases had been cleared, which typically means a suspect has been arrested.

The Annual Arson Incident Report, from the U.S. Bomb Data Center, said there were 6,465 cases listed as “incendiary fires or arson” across the country in 2021. It added that 1,838 of these cases remained under investigation.

The data center said there were 62 fatalities linked to arson while another 79 deaths remained under investigation.