Iowa Woman Arrested For Lighting Couch On Fire, Said She Wanted “A Crime Scene”

An Iowa City woman was arrested Sunday who later told police that she lit a couch on fire to “make a crime scene.”

The fire was reported around 4:51am on Sunday by a resident on the second floor of the 800 block of South Lucas Street. He told the authorities that he was asleep, and then woke up to fire alarms and wasn't sure if anybody was even home downstairs in the main floor apartment.

Police say that firefighters were actively putting out the fire, when 20-year-old Cara Hanson walked up to the ground-floor home. She's the resident of that first-floor apartment, and gave officers some pretty unclear and conflicting statements about what started the fire.

The fire department told her it looked as though it started on the couch.

Not quite sure what to make of her stories, police decided to take her down to the police station for some more questioning, where she admitted that she did start the fire by lighting the couch aflame with a lighter.

According to police, Hanson “expressed displeasure with a recent crime scene” and told officers “I’m going to make a crime scene.” During her confession, she also mentioned the upstairs neighbor by name.

She told officers that she lit the fire, then walked around the block and came back once first responders were there.

Cara Hanson was arrested on one charge: first-degree arson.