Overview

• U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead imposed the six-year term on Sept. 4 in Seattle federal court.
• Natasha Marie O'Dell, 38, pleaded guilty in April to arson, damage to religious property, and obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs.
• Investigators tied her to the Aug. 25, 2023 blaze through surveillance video, cell phone data, and credit card records showing purchases of lighters and just over a gallon of gasoline.
• Prosecutors say she took a ride-share to the Seattle Laestadian Lutheran Church in Maltby, where video captured her pouring fuel before the system failed.
• The fire destroyed the church, caused about $3.2 million in losses, displaced the congregation to rented school space, and injured a firefighter.