Arsonist Granddaughter Set Fire To Elderly Woman's Bed To Conceal Brutal Murder

An arsonist granddaughter in Jefferson County, Wisconsin is facing a possible life sentence after she mercilessly suffocated her ailing grandmother and later set the corpse on fire to conceal the heinous crime last week, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice on Tuesday.

The suspect Elizabeth M. Durkee, 36, of Fort Atkinson, has been hit with charges of first-degree intentional homicide, arson, strangulation, and mutilating a corpse, following a series of events that culminated in a Foster Street house fire in Fort Atkinson on Friday, WISN reported.

Fort Atkinson Fire Department officers were called to the blazing home around 10:50 a.m. to the 400 block of Foster Street. Firefighters and police noted that the flames and smoke were coming out of a first-floor window of the house, as well as from the rear of the property.

A neighbor told the cops that a woman had left with a child before the fire ravaged the home. However, they were not aware the elderly homeowner was still inside.

According to Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Courtney Bauer, the victim’s body had already shown signs of decomposition when authorities retrieved it from the flames.

An autopsy later confirmed the victim had died before the fire, sparking further police probes.

Authorities alleged that on June 7, the accused had smothered her grandmother by wrapping flower-colored duct tape around her nose and mouth. She then remained in the room while the victim gasped for air.

The victim, who was calm the first few seconds of the ordeal, began to panic when she could no longer breathe. Durkee, however, reportedly did nothing to stop her grandmother's suffering.

After some two minutes, the elderly Durkee stopped moving, the police complaint said. Durkee moved to remove the duct tape and then cover the victim's body with a blanket.

According to the suspect, she did not leave the house until Wednesday after days of deciding what to do with the body. The suspect had allegedly considered calling an ambulance but ultimately decided not to.

Durkee had initially also plotted to set the house on fire and have herself and her 2-year-old die in the flames, according to police. She proceeded to get a partial can of gas from the garage on Thursday and poured the gas on random pieces of furniture throughout the first floor of the home. She also poured gas on the blanket covering the victim.

In the end, the suspect decided she could not kill herself and her daughter. Instead, on Friday morning, Durkee went to the victim's bedroom and set her beddings alight, which ultimately set the entire home, covered in gas, on fire.

Surveillance footage from the nearby Hoard Museum revealed a silver car pulled out from the home's driveway at 10:44 a.m on Friday. By then, smoke was already visibly coming out from the window of the victim's bedroom, Madison noted.

Officers known to the victim were quick to phone her daughter, the suspect's mother, who lamented they were not able to contact Durkee for days.

The suspect is a mother to a two-year-old and a 17-year-old, who had moved out a few months earlier due to clashes with her mother.

An Amber Alert was issued late Friday night for the two-year-old but the notice was canceled some two hours later following Durkee's arrest early Saturday at Super 8 Motel in Delavan. The woman was spotted by police with her 2-year-old daughter, who has since been placed under the care of other family members.

According to the criminal complaint, the younger Durkee's 17-year-old daughter delivered her statement to authorities on Friday night. She asserted that her mother, the carer of the victim, had wanted to put the victim out of her misery. The victim had been suffering from medical issues and was mainly bedridden, requiring constant assistance.

Following her arrest, Durkee allegedly confessed that she only helped her grandmother end her life after the elderly pleaded for help to be with her late husband.

Durkee fronted court on Tuesday where she was placed on a $1 million bail bond. She will re-appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 6, according to WMTV. If convicted for homicide, the woman will be slapped with a life prison sentence.