Woman charged with arson allegedly ‘live streamed’ as she burnt Woogenellup home to ground, prosecutor claims

A woman has denied lighting a fire at a farmhouse in the Great Southern and live-streaming the home as it burned. Michele Anne Luscombe, 47, was charged with one count of criminal damage by fire following a blaze that destroyed a house in the rural area late at night on May 11. Albany detectives told the Advertiser Ms Luscombe allegedly started the fire inside the home, where she lived, after a dispute with the owner and the home’s tenant. A Facebook account in Ms Luscombe’s name posted videos and photos on the night of the fire, appearing to show the home alight. On Thursday Ms Luscombe appeared in Albany Magistrates Court via video link from Melaleuca Women’s Prison. At the start of her hearing, Ms Luscombe’s Legal Aid lawyer said she could no longer represent her and asked for her to be transferred to another lawyer. Ms Luscombe told the court she had been “taken from the house while it was still burning” and had “got out of my bed and the curtains were on fire”. She then made a request for bail which was opposed by police prosecutor Sgt Warrick Walker because Ms Luscombe had previously breached bail for a separate offence, and he said there was a strong prosecution case. “The accused live-streamed the house as it was burning down, narrating what she had done,” Sgt Walker said. The prosecutor told the court Ms Luscombe had tried to interfere with emergency services as they put out the fire and evidence on her mobile phone showed she was “motivated to exact revenge on the victims”. Ms Luscombe said she had no history with the alleged victims and asked for bail with no conditions. She disputed Sgt Walker’s claim she had live-streamed the house fire. “I don’t actually even know how to live stream,” Ms Luscombe said. “I’ve had the phone four weeks, and no offence, but I couldn’t live stream anything...” Ms Luscombe told the court on the day of the fire she had tried to “escalate” a housing application to “get away from the situation”. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan denied Ms Luscombe’s bid for bail. She noted Ms Luscombe’s presence at the crime scene and her “admissions” on social media “during the commission of the offence” created strong evidence against her. She was remanded in custody and will reappear in court on July 9.