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IM woman found guilty of arson

Jury returns verdict after only 15 minutes of deliberation

Nikki Younk/Daily News Photo THERESA LYNN NOWACZYK, left, and her court-appointed defense attorney, Daniel Anderson, watch a video of her interview with police. The 32-year-old went on trial Thursday on arson charges after being accused of piling paperback and hardback books on the stove, chair and floor of the kitchen where she lived and igniting them, causing a fire that forced demolishing the house.

IRON MOUNTAIN — Jurors deliberated for only 15 minutes this morning before returning guilty verdicts for an Iron Mountain woman accused of burning her home at 507 Vulcan St. last year.

Theresa Lynn Nowaczyk, 32, will be sentenced Sept. 5 on second degree arson, a 20-year felony, and arson-preparation to burn a dwelling, a 10-year felony.

The trial began Thursday with jury selection and testimony from Dickinson County Prosecutor Lisa Richards’ witnesses. Nowaczyk declined this morning to take the stand in her defense, so attorneys moved right along to closing statements before the case was handed over to the jury of six men and six women.

Jurors on Thursday heard Nowaczyk confess to the crime on police body camera footage, saying her house had “a bunch of bad memories” and she “wanted to not be there anymore.”

Nowaczyk told officers in the video she acted on the spur of the moment Sept. 2, 2016, when she ignited a book page on her kitchen stove and spread the flame to dozens of hardcover and softcover books she had piled on the stove, chair and floor of the kitchen.

However, she became agitated when officers continued to probe for details on her motive.

“I don’t want to hurt anybody, I don’t want to burn anymore houses down; I’m fine,” Nowaczyk said in the video.

The hour-long body camera footage ended a full day of testimony Thursday from Richards’ witnesses: two Iron Mountain firefighters, two Iron Mountain police officers and a state fire marshal.

Defense attorney Daniel Anderson presented no witnesses. Nowaczyk repeatedly has refused to speak to Anderson or any psychological evaluators, preventing Anderson from pursuing an insanity defense at trial.

Nowaczyk also declined to wear street clothing for her trial, as is her right, and appeared in court in a jail outfit.

Firefighters testified they arrived at the Vulcan Street home about 9:30 p.m. Sept. 2, 2016, to find heavy fire and smoke coming out of the structure. 

After a bystander reported Nowaczyk and her three children still might be inside, firefighters searched the burning building multiple times. They eventually learned the children were at the Dickinson County Fair, and police officers had found Nowaczyk walking with her dog on U.S. 2 near the Holiday Inn Express in an effort to get to her mother’s home in Florence, Wis.

Nowaczyk’s “nonchalant” and “casual” attitude after hearing about her house on fire struck the officers as strange, so they brought her in for the questioning captured on the body camera footage.

Fire Marshal Dale Hillier testified his findings were consistent with Nowaczyk’s confession. 

He used burn patterns and witness statements to determine the blaze started in the kitchen, and ruled out all other ignition sources such as cigarette butts in a garbage can, electrical wiring and other kitchen appliances.

Anderson tried to create doubt by pointing out no valuables were removed from the home before the fire, and Nowaczyk was behaving strangely for a person who reportedly just committed a crime. In addition, older homes such as the one at 507 Vulcan St. can have electrical wiring issues that can lead to fires, he added.

Although Nowaczyk claimed to have lived at the house since she was 14 years old, it actually belongs to her stepfather’s mother. The home was estimated as a $37,000 loss, while the value of the home’s lost contents was placed at $10,000. 

It later was demolished.

Nikki Younk can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 41, or nyounk@ironmountaindailynews.

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