Danville mother, daughter set house on fire in insurance scam, police say

A mother and daughter are facing arson and fraud charges after they set their house on fire in order to collect insurance money, police say.

Deborah Willison, 53, and Lanna Brown, 35, were arrested after family members told police that the two had talked about burning down their Danville home. Brown's daughter told detectives they transferred valuable belongings to a storage unit weeks before the fire, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Fire crews were called to the 200 block of Cook Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. July 11. A witness told firefighters that flames were coming from the house's basement. A police investigation began four days later after authorities from the Danville Fire Department informed detectives that the fire seemed suspicious.

Brown's 17-year-old daughter told police she had overheard her mother, grandmother and other family members openly talk about setting the house on fire to collect insurance money. The teen also was asked to look after the family's cats while her family members left town the week before the fire, according to court documents.

Willison and Brown initially claimed they were in Ohio when the fire broke out. Brown later admitted that she drove her mother to the house the night of the fire while she waited in her car down the street. Willison said she was at the house that night and tripped while holding a candle, documents said.

Willison also admitted that she had earlier removed several valuables from the house. She received $2,500 from Shelter Insurance on July 17 for a claim she had filed, documents said.

A firefighter was injured while working at the scene. He was treated at Hendricks Regional Hospital for a burn to his face and released.

Willison is facing two counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud. Brown is charged with aid and abet in the commission of arson, aid and abet in the commission of insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit arson to defraud.

The other family members who talked about setting the house on fire are not facing charges.

In a separate case, Mark Leonard, his half brother, Bob Leonard, and his former girlfriend, Monserrate Shirley, are charged with murder and 46 counts of arson and conspiracy to commit arson in connection with the November 2012 blast that killed Shirley's next-door neighbors. The three are accused of setting a blast in Shirley's Richmond Hill home on Indianapolis' Southeastside to collect insurance money.

Prosecutors said the three were desperate for money, in part because of mounting gambling and credit card debt and the possible foreclosure of the heavily mortgaged home.

Star reporter Tim Evans contributed to this story.

Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.