HOUSTON – Police say a man started a fire inside the town house he lived in after his common-law wife decided to end their relationship.
According to court documents, Corey Meredith set fire to a mattress in the master bedroom at 3303 W. Greenridge Dr. at about 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 30.
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Lakenya Martin, Meredith's common-law wife, told investigators she had broken her relationship off with him the day before. She said when she arrived home from her graveyard shift at UPS, she found her husband waiting up to talk to her and refused to let her leave the house and pick up their child from overnight care.
Court documents show Martin said she started getting harassing phone calls and text messages from Meredith. Investigators say some of the messages said "I will make you hate me" and "You've taken everything in this world that's given my life any meaning....you have transformed my love for you into resentment".
Martin told investigators she was scared to go home after that so she went to a McDonald's and called 911.
Officers said they agreed to escort Martin to her house so she could get her belongings, but when they arrived they found the Houston Fire Department fighting a fire in her bedroom.
Investigators said they talked to the town house's owner and the person living next door about the incident.
After an investigation, they arrested Meredith on charges of arson.