KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Police have charged a man with arson, kidnapping and public intoxication after he set a house on fire with a woman trapped inside, according to reports.
Rural Metro Fire and the Knox County Sheriff's Office responded to a house fire on Chestnut Ridge Road in North Knoxville around 4:30 a.m. Monday. When crews arrived the house was completely engulfed in flames, according to Rural Metro.
The suspect, Sidney Whitsell, fled from the fire. He was located and arrested for public intoxication after officers were unable to interview him, reports state.
The owner of the house, Whitsell's father, arrived on the scene and said that Whitsell and a woman named Jessica Davis stayed at the house. Davis' whereabouts were originally unknown, but she eventually called the police, according to reports.
Davis told police she had made herself a hamburger and Whitsell became angry that there were no leftovers for him, reports state.
Whitsell became increasingly irritated and began slamming doors and stomping around. Davis went to the basement to get away from Whitsell, according to reports.
A short time later, Davis heard an explosion, felt the house shake and began to see and smell smoke. When she went upstairs to escape, the door had been locked from the inside, reports state. The report said the upstairs door was the only working exit, but there were other broken doors at the rear that exited under the deck. She told authorities she was afraid to go out those doors because Whitsell would hang out in that spot.
"She stated she was scared to death for her safety, and she tried to remain calm but the smoke in the basement became worse and the temperature began to rise. She tried to listen to the upstairs noises to determine where (arrestee) was, but all she heard was things breaking and popping sounds. After a short time there were no sounds of footsteps and doors slamming any longer," the report said.
The smoke was getting worse, so Davis forced open the broken rear doors to get herself out of the basement. While making sure she wasn't being chased, she noticed Whitsell standing in the backyard watching the house burn. Davis fled for her own safety, according to reports.
Reports state Whitsell made no attempt to warn Davis of the fire and locked the only working door to the basement in an attempt to prevent her from leaving the house he purposely set on fire.
Rural Metro noted that the fire was difficult to fight because of its size.