Florida woman charged with setting fire to home over missing towel

Robin Hamilton, 57, arrested in Alachua County

Robin Hamilton (Alachua County Sheriff's Office)

HAWTHORNE, Fla. – A Florida woman set fire to a converted woodshed that another woman was living in following an argument over a missing towel, authorities said.

Robin Hamilton, 57, was arrested shortly after Saturday's fire behind a Hawthorne trailer home, the Gainesville Sun reported.

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A woman told Alachua County deputies that she was renting the shed from Hamilton and living there with her two dogs. The woman said Hamilton had been drunk and threatened to “burn her out” because of a missing towel that had sentimental value to Hamilton.

About 20 minutes after the fight, the tenant said she smelled something burning and then saw smoke. The woman said she got out of the shed, but her puppy fled under the furniture and died in the fire.

Hamilton told detectives she didn't know how the fire started. A neighbor’s surveillance showed Hamilton crouching next to the shed several times, just before the building caught fire.

Hamilton faces charges of attempted murder, arson and animal cruelty. She was being held on $80,000 bond. Jail records didn’t list an attorney.


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