Owens gets 20 years for Whitehouse arson

Deborah Ann Owens recently pled guilty to second-degree felony arson and received a 20 year sentence in 114th District Judge Cynthia Kent's court.

The 44-year-old woman received the sentence for setting a house on fire at 205 Delmar in Whitehouse.

According to assistant district attorney Richard Vance, Owens was jealous of Bobby Whisenhunt and was angry at him. The May 5, 2007 fire caused significant damage to the home as well as to the personal property inside.

Vance also said that Owens even confessed to setting the fire to a friend.

Due to the investigative work of Detective Mary Pyle of the Whitehouse police department, Owens was arrested July 19, 2007 and booked into the Smith County jail on the arson charge.

"This is not her first time through the system and not her first brush with arson," Pyle said. "Along with the arson charge, Owens' probation for a previous conviction is also revoked."

Pyle said Owens was her number one suspect from the beginning. According to Pyle, Owens was in a relationship with Whisenhunt and was a "woman scorned." Owens was unhappy when Whisenhunt tried to end their relationship and she torched his house in retaliation.

Owens, who listed her address as 14291 FM 850 in Tyler, was already on probation for second degree felony charges of manufacture and delivery of a control substance. This case adds to the list which includes a conviction of assault causing bodily injury and past charges ranging from theft by check to possession of a controlled substance.

Pyle's investigation took her to multiple East Texas locations including visits with inmates to gather testimony and information about Owens and her past actions.

Officials believe she may have burned as many as four homes in Smith County in the past 12 years and allegedly had threatened to burn another.