By ERIK SANZENBACH and LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / June 26, 1999

LAPLACE – Kellie W. Dauphin was arrested Wednesday by St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s deputies and charged with arson with intent to defraud.

A joint investigation between the St. John Sheriff’s Office and theLouisiana Fire Marshal determined that a flammable solvent was used to start a fire in Dauphin’s kitchen at 119 Crevasse in LaPlace.

Lt. Michael Tregre the Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said that insurance isprobably the motive due to financial problems of the family.

“She found herself under a lot of mounting bills,” Tregre said.

Fire erupted at 4:24 p.m. on June 7 at her home, which Dauphin, 35, sharedwith her fianc, Danny Weber, 28, and her two daughters. LaPlace VFDunits arrived at the scene six minutes later.

“We’ll probably have an additional arrest,” Tregre added.

Earlier, the couple lived in a trailer neighboring the same property at 558 Louisiana Highway 628 (River Road). The trailer burned on Sept. 11, 1998.Tregre said that fire is likewise under investigation, though it was believed at the time to be accidental, sparked by an electrical malfunction in an oven vent hood.

On the evening after the June 7 fire, the couple were questioned for five hours by sheriff’s investigators and investigators from the State Fire Marshal. She claimed she had been absent from the house at the time ofthe fire. Tregre said investigators say it was deliberately set.At the time of the fire, the daughters, 16 and 11, huddled outside the house, afraid their mother had died inside the blaze. Weber, likewise,came running up and claimed he was concerned about the safety of his dogs.

Eighteen firefighters took three and a half hours to extinguish the fire and the family relocated to 497 Grand Coulee, where Dauphin was arrested this week.

Dauphin is being held under $25,000 bond.

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