Donna Franklin is accused of setting fire to her ex-boyfriend's barn in Sturgeon Bay. (Photo courtesy Door County Sheriff's Office)
STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -Donna Franklin pleaded not guilty Thursday to setting her ex-boyfriend’s barn on fire.
Franklin, 60, also waived her preliminary hearing on one count of arson of a building for the fire. No trial date was set. She returns to court July 23 for a status conference, court records show.
Authorities said the barn was set on fire June 10. The owner used the barn to store vehicles and tools, but not animals.
When interviewed by police, Franklin said the two broke up June 6 after she found messages between her boyfriend and another woman. The complaint states Franklin eventually admitted she was at the barn the day of the fire, but said she wouldn’t damage the property, as she had invested her own “blood and sweat” into barn renovations.
After being confronted with evidence she discarded something at a restaurant that night, Franklin confessed to starting the fire.
“Franklin said she used the flicker to start insulation paper on fire, just north of where the pickup truck was located. Franklin said when she saw that the flames were beginning to spread, she walked out of the building and immediately left the property and went to Culver’s to get a sundae, throwing the flicker in the trash,” the complaint says.
Franklin said the building represented a dream that she and VICTIM shared. Franklin said after the breakup, she realized the dream was no longer hers, and she did not want VICTIM sharing it with another woman. Franklin said if she could not have the dream, she did not want another woman to have it either,” the complaint states.
Sturgeon Bay’s police and fire departments were dispatched to the property, located in the 1400 block of N. 8th Avenue, shortly before 9 p.m. June 10. The barn was
engulfed in flames when crews arrived on scene.
After the blaze was extinguished, officials worked to establish an origin and cause and the fire “was deemed to be suspicious.” Franklin was later arrested.
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