TACOMA, Wash. — A woman facing first and second-degree murder charges and 17 counts of arson was found guilty on nearly all of the charges Wednesday.
Sarah Jane Ramey set a string of fires in Tacoma and Ruston between late December 2021 and late January 2022. Ramey was charged in February 2022.
Ramey was found guilty of first-degree murder and all but three of the arson counts. She was also found guilty of burglary, identity theft and theft of a motor vehicle. She was found not guilty of second-degree murder.
Ramey set a fire on New Year’s Eve in 2021, resulting in the death of James Elliott. Elliott died of smoke inhalation after a fire ignited at his home on Rosemount Way in North Tacoma.
Elliot's daughter, Elizabeth Keating, attended portions of the trial.
"I'm just relieved," Keating said. "I just want her not to have the opportunity to hurt anybody else."
Keating said she was upset to learn others were put at risk in the arsons.
"I'm a mother," Keating said. "It was heartbreaking. One of the fires, on the other side of the door she set on fire, was a child."
The fire was initially determined to be accidental, but a Central Pierce Fire & Rescue K9 later indicated there were “ignitable liquids” on numerous pieces of debris from the home.
Cellphone data showed Ramey's phone in north Tacoma near the location of the fire when it occurred, according to probable cause documents. Based on the data, she stayed in the area for "several hours," left, and then came back for "several more hours."
After Ramey’s arrest, she was found with the victim’s checkbook and checks belonging to the victim’s wife. A search of the defendant’s truck turned up a high visibility Metro Parks jacket which the suspect was caught wearing in surveillance footage taken from multiple of the suspected arson scenes. Authorities also found debit and credit cards from residents at other homes Ramey was accused of setting on fire and keys to multiple vehicles stolen from a Metro Parks facility.