A Zionsville couple has been criminally charged in connection to an arson fire after an Indiana Department of Homeland Security investigation.
Leslee Pettit-Myers, 51, is accused of setting fire to a man’s home, wrecking her Tesla as she fled, and leaving the scene of the accident in December 2020. Her husband, Michael G. Myers, 49, an Indianapolis attorney, is accused of attempting to cover up the crash, according to a DHS news statement.
The investigation took more than two years, but she was charged Monday in Marion County with arson and leaving the scene of an accident. He is charged with obstruction of justice. Both are scheduled for an initial hearing on Friday.
Pettit-Myers’ parents once lived in a home neighboring the home that burned, according to the DHS. Pettit-Myers’ mother died in 2018, and she and the man who owned the burned home in the 7000 block of W. 93rd St., Gary Edwards, argued over the condition of the two properties, Edwards claims in a civil suit he filed against the couple in December, ahead of the criminal charges.
Edwards told the court his house is a total loss, and the garage was also severely damaged. The home was vacant at the time of the fire, as he used it for storage, according to Edwards’ lawsuit.
Pike Township Fire investigators determined accelerant was used on the home’s first floor, the DHS reported.
Several neighbors reported seeing Pettit-Myers’ white Tesla at Edwards’ property just before the fire and seeing it crash as it sped away, the DHS reported. The car left behind parts with unique serial numbers and breakage patterns that matched Pettit-Myers’ SUV, according to Edwards’ claim.
Cell phone records put Pettit-Myers in the vicinity of the burned home at the time of the arson, and linked Myers to a trip he made to have the Tesla repaired at a shop in Kentucky, the DHS reported.
Myers told a repair shop employee that an unauthorized person had been driving the car when it was damaged and he didn’t want to make a claim with his insurance company, according to the DHS. A Tesla representative confirmed the car’s data record indicated it had been in a crash at the time of the crash at Edwards’ house.
DHS also investigated with the PTFD and was aided by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana State Police, Louisville Metropolitan Arson Bureau and United States Secret Service.