Hollsopple woman accused of igniting 'spell book' pages to set man's car on fire
A 47-year-old Hollsopple woman faces arson and related charges in an incident during which police say she threatened her ex-boyfriend with a gun at his place of business and after being removed from the building set fire to his car.
Kristy Lynn Malzi, the charged suspect, ignited pages from "Wicca Book of Spells" placing them on the driver side front seat of a red 2012 Ford Focus through an open window, Cpl. Thomas Leo Owens of the Stonycreek Township Police Department in Cambria County wrote in a probable-cause affidavit.
Her ex-boyfriend told police that Malzi practiced witchcraft and she had a book she had recently recovered from the residence they shared before separation, police said.
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Malzi's preliminary hearing was continued Wednesday to Aug. 24 at 11 a.m. before Cambria County District Judge Susan Gindlesperger. She did not have a defense attorney.
According to the affidavit, on July 30, at a business along Bedford Street in Johnstown, Malzi went to her ex-boyfriend's office and a verbal confrontation occurred, according to an employee who heard the arguing and went to help his employer who had called for his assistance.
According to her ex-boyfriend, she threatened to kill him and her mother, police said. He told police Malzi grabbed a loaded .410 shotgun inside his office and pointed the barrel at his head.
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"He grabbed the barrel and struggled with and struggled with Malzi as she struck him several times," according to the affidavit. He then struck her and caused her to stumble, losing her shoe and a cellular telephone now with police, police said.
The employee said when he went into the office he saw the two struggling over a firearm. He helped the owner to get Malzi out of the building and started locking the doors to prevent her from re-entering the building, according to police. After she was outside in the parking lot, the employee saw the Ford Focus on fire. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the fire out, according to the affidavit.
Malzi is charged with arson, a third-degree felony; terroristic threats, a first-degree misdemeanor; and simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor.
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A third-degree felony conviction can result in prison time up to seven years and fines up to $15,000. First- and second-degree misdemeanors can mean up to five years for first-degree and up to two years for second-degree.
At the time of her hearing Wednesday her bond was not modified. She has been in the Cambria County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bond since Aug. 8, according to court documents.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Hollsopple woman accused of burning 'spell book' to set man's car ablaze
