Cops: Woman Set Home on Fire, Watched From Lawn Chair

A Maryland woman set her home on fire then grabbed a lawn chair to watch it burn, with one person still inside, authorities say. Gail Metwally, 47, faces charges including arson and attempted murder over the Thursday fire in Elkton, near the Delaware state line, the Delaware News-Journal reports. The state fire marshal's office says witnesses observed Metwally "setting multiple fires within the home and then setting in a chair on the front lawn, where she watched the fire engulf the home." The office says bystanders rescued a woman in the home's basement who had been screaming for help.

In video filmed by a witness, the narrator sees the house start to burn and says: "I cannot actually believe it. And she’s sitting there, just chilling, watching the house go up in flames," Law & Crime reports. The man can later be seen helping a woman climb out of a basement window. Authorities say two other residents were not home at the time of the fire. The fire marshal's office says Metwally walked away after watching the fire for a few minutes, but she was arrested after officers saw her in the area. (More arson stories.)