Gonzales man arrested after allegedly setting home on fire following separation discussion with wife
GONZALES - A man was arrested after allegedly setting fire to a house after his wife discussed separation with him on October 23.
Brandon Morin was arrested and charged with one count of simple arson and cruelty to animals. Firefighters rescued a dog from the burning house and no people were inside at the time of the fire. Morin is out of jail on a $250,000 bond.
The house was owned by Morin and his wife Bailey, who had been married just 61 days. Peggy Turner, the grandmother of Bailey, said the couple had an argument that ballooned to talk of separation. Turner said Morin agreed to leave and to have someone pick up his possessions at a later date.
Turner told WBRZ that Bailey was concerned for her safety following the argument and did not stay at the house that night. Not even thirty minutes after leaving, family members received several calls saying the house was on fire.
Turner said that Brandon was seen by neighbors parked in a nearby yard, and neighbors said he removed an air conditioning unit, snuck in through a window and drenched the house in gasoline. The intruder is said to have left the dog in its kennel and set the house ablaze. Turner said Brandon's hat was left at the scene in the middle of the yard and that the house was deemed a total loss.
Turner says she started noticing alarming signs after the couple married. According to Turner, there was less communication with family members. Bailey had to keep her phone on speaker during calls, and cameras were installed that allegedly tracked Bailey's movements instead of being used for security.
Twahna P. Harris, the founder of the Butterfly Society, says it is important for victims and families to know that domestic violence comes in many forms.
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"It's a way of showing up very charming, very nice, polite, caring, loving starting out, that's how it starts out. But as time goes, and you get deeper in the relationship, they reveal themselves," Harris said. "It's about mental control, and it's about power, it's about control isolation intimidation."
Turner said she wants people to know how quickly things can change and can be different then they appear. She described the Morin's relationship as an ugly package wrapped in a pretty bow.
You can click here for the family's GoFundMe.