A 38-year-old woman from Temple, Texas pleaded guilty to arson following the destruction of Seattle Laestadian Lutheran Church (SLLC), according to a release from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Natasha Marie O’Dell set fire to the Snohomish County Church on August 25, 2023 causing more than $3.2 million in damages, the DOJ said.
Surveillance video, which survived the fire, shows O’Dell pouring gasoline out of a red container around the church.
A federal indictment showed that cell phone records and credit card purchases linked O’Dell to the fire.
According to the plea agreement, she expressed to several people her anger toward SLLC specifically and told another that she planned to burn a nearby church.
The DOJ says she pleaded guilty to Arson, which carries a maximum of 20 years, as well as Damage to Religious Property, and Obstruction of Persons in the Free Exercise of Religious Beliefs, which is punishable up to 40 years.
Her sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2025.
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