A 17-year-old Brewton resident remained jailed this week on a $200,000 bond after Escambia County sheriff’s deputies accused her of setting fire to her family’s mobile home while four relatives were inside.
Deputies charged Love Freedom Rutledge with four counts of attempted murder and one count of first-degree arson following the fire, which broke out late Saturday night in the Appleton community of Escambia County. Because of the severity of the allegations, Rutledge is being charged as an adult, said Chief Deputy Mike Lambert of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators believe Rutledge set the fire to the family’s mobile home on McGougin Road before fleeing into a nearby wooded area. Around 1 a.m. Sunday, sheriff’s deputies, medics and firefighters with the Appleton Volunteer Fire Department responded to a 911 call reporting a fully involved structure fire. By the time crews arrived, the mobile home had been destroyed.
One family member suffered severe burns in the fire and was transported first to a local hospital before being flown to the burn unit at the University of South Alabama Medical Center. Authorities had not released an update on that person’s condition as of Wednesday. The home’s three other occupants were not seriously hurt.
Deputies said that when they arrived on scene, they realized only four of the home’s five residents could be accounted for. A K-9 unit was called in to search the area, and Rutledge was eventually located in a wooded area a short distance from the burned home.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office and local fire departments, is continuing to investigate the case. Authorities have declined to release additional details, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation, including what may have led to the alleged attack and whether there had been any prior warning signs within the household.
Cases involving arson and multiple potential victims inside a residence typically require extensive forensic work to establish how a fire started and spread, and Escambia County investigators are expected to rely heavily on evidence gathered by state fire marshals in building their case. Rutledge’s bond amount reflects the seriousness of the charges, which carry the possibility of decades in prison if she is convicted as an adult.
The Appleton community, located in rural Escambia County outside Brewton, is served primarily by volunteer fire and rescue crews, whose quick response Saturday night is credited with preventing further injuries once the blaze was reported.