Woman accused of setting ex's Chesterfield Township home on fire with kids inside

29-year-old woman charged with assault with intent to murder, arson

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A 29-year-old woman is accused of setting her ex-boyfriend's Chesterfield Township home on fire while he, two other adults and three young children were inside early Wednesday morning.

Police say Kayla Zorn, of Allenton, poured gasoline around the trailer home and lit the fire, knowing the adults and young children -- ages 5, 3, and 1 -- were inside. Everyone was able to get out of the home safely.

"I would say  that the victims in this matter dodged a bullet,' said Chesterfield Police Chief Bradley Kersten. 

Police found her a block away, watching the fire. They say she smelled heavily of gasoline and couldn't explain what she was doing there.

Police say Zorn told officers she was upset with her ex-boyfriend and the way their relationship ended. She allegedly knew young children were in the home when she lit the fire and watched the home burn from a distance.

According to one of the adults inside the mobile home, Zorn attacked the trailer just 45 minutes after her former boyfriend changed his relationship status on Facebook.

Zorn's 33-year-old ex-boyfriend told officers he first smelled the gasoline then saw the smoke and flames around the doorways of the home on Harrisburg Lane. He said he tried to put out the fire while a woman living in the home got everyone out safely and called 911.

"There's a fire underneath our trailer!" the caller told the 911 dispatcher. "We're getting everyone out now ... please send help now."

Listen: 911 call from burning Chesterfield Township home with kids inside

Chesterfield Township police say they were familiar with Zorn after they had an encounter with her in early March. They knew she drives a white Chevrolet Z-71 pickup truck.

Officers found the pickup parked and unoccupied one block west of the fire. The keys were still in the ignition and there were two half empty gas cans in the bed of the truck. It didn't take long for police to find Zorn, who was standing in a yard between two homes just down the street from the pickup, police said.

She couldn't explain what she was doing between the homes or why she smelled of gasoline. She was arrested and her vehicle was impounded.

Police say Zorn has confessed to lighting the trailer on fire and admitted she knew it wasn't just her ex-boyfriend inside, either.

Currently she's behind bars at the Macomb County Jail  charged with "Assault With Intent to Murder" as well as arson charges. She's being held on a $500,000 bond.