Mississippi woman arrested after allegedly setting son’s clothes on fire – then blaming it on son to get him ‘locked up’

A Mississippi woman was arrested on an arson charge after reportedly setting fire to her son’s clothing, which ultimately resulted in damage to an apartment building, police said.

Commander Jerry Ford of Natchez Police Department said the fire allegedly began with a domestic dispute between Sandra Carnell Covington, 53, and her son at Susie B. West Apartments in Natchez on April 17.

“Her son stays on and off with her. Apparently, the mother got upset with her son and didn’t want him staying there anymore, so she set his clothes outside the door of her apartment and set his clothes on fire. Trying to get him locked up, she fabricated a story that the son started a fire when she started it herself,” Ford said.

Ford said the fire ended up burning a part of the apartment building.

“It wasn’t a whole lot (of damage) but it was enough that the fire department had to come out and extinguished it,” he said.

Covington was arrested on Thursday and her bond was later set at $25,000.