Milwaukee woman set own apartment on fire: complaint

Dorothy Johnson, 66, of Milwaukee, is charged with arson of a building after prosecutors say she set fire to her own apartment with a box of matches.

MILWAUKEE - Dorothy Johnson, 66, of Milwaukee, is charged with arson of a building after prosecutors say she set fire to her own apartment with a box of matches.

The fire happened on June 10 near 6th and Lincoln.

A criminal complaint says surveillance showed Johnson leaving the apartment alone at 5:19 a.m. The fire alarm strobe light was activated at 5:20 a.m. and the sprinkler system was turned on at 5:23 a.m.

There was fire and water damage to Johnson's unit and the unit below it.

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Investigators determined the fire started in the bedroom in at least three different areas.

A box of matches was found on a table next to the door to the apartment, the complaint says. Investigators also found wood stick ends of matches in the charred combustibles.

Prosecutors say Johnson was "the only person observed leaving the apartment where the fire started."

The fire caused $300,000 in damage.

The criminal complaint does not offer a motive. Johnson made her initial appearance in court Thursday, June 15, where a competency evaluation was ordered.