A woman reportedly received a text message from a man who asked her to come over to his place for late-night s*x. Both of them allegedly saw each other from time to time on several occasions. But the startling event unfolded when the woman arrived at the man’s home, but by that time, he had already fallen asleep.
On arriving outside the home, Taija reportedly knocked on the front door and called the man several times. However, the man did not respond as he was in deep slumber. At this point, she became infuriated and sent the victim a string of messages that read, “I see you want to die,” and “You wasted my money to come here.”
Despite getting no response, Taija did not retire back to her home. Instead, she made her way to a nearby gas station and purchased lighter fluid, matches, and a lighter around 4 a.m. Around 4:08 am, she allegedly set the only doorway of the man’s home on fire before fleeing the scene as the flames spread. The victim, who has not been identified, finally woke up around 4:30 am and found that the exit to his smoke-filled home had been blocked by raging flames. Somehow, he managed to escape his home by physically removing a window frame and climbing out through the opening, per police.
He ran nearly two-tenths of a mile to reach the police station and “frantically” revealed that his residence was on fire before running back home. The probable cause statement revealed that the man was only wearing a T-shirt and was “covered head to toe in soot and ash” when he arrived at the station. The victim was soon transported to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and first-and second-degree burns. Woodbury firefighters immediately arrived at the scene and managed to tame the fire before saving the man’s pet dog. However, all of his belongings, including the house itself, were completely devastated by the flames.
“The residence and its contents were completely destroyed,” read a statement. An investigation into the fire was launched after officials found signs of arson, a criminal offense. They reviewed hours’ worth of surveillance footage and determined Taija to be the culprit. In a security camera footage, she was allegedly seen making a purchase “just prior to the fire.” Other videos showed her returning to the residence and walk towards the back door. Soon after this, the house was ablaze.
The victim allegedly told police that he had invited Taija over for sex and described her as his “side chick” with “whom he had been having a sexual relationship.” While reviewing his phone, police found four text messages on the victim’s phone from Taija, including, “U smoked,” and “I swear to God I hope you die.” There were eight missed calls from her number as well. Thus, police had enough evidence to charge Taija with attempted murder, aggravated arson, endangering, and criminal mischief.
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