A Chelsea woman was arraigned and held without bail on charges of arson and murder connected to the fatal fire on Spruce Street Christmas Eve. Shown above is the residence where the incident took pla
A Chelsea woman charged with murder and arson in connection with a Christmas Eve fire which took the life of 20 year-old Crystal Lynn Blanchard was arraigned in Chelsea District Court Friday where she maintained her innocence.
Melissa Pfeiffer, 27, was held without bail following the arraignment.
According to District Attorney Dan Conley, Pfeiffer lit her boyfriend’s clothes on fire, which led to the fire in the apartment and subsequently caused the death of Blanchard.
Blanchard was trapped by flames and fire and could not escape.
Her boyfriend suffered extensive burns but managed to jump from a second floor window to safety.
“Miss Blanchard was unable to get out of the building,” said Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee.
Two separate witnesses have apparently reported hearing Pfeiffer admit that she set her boyfriend’s clothes on fire, Lee said.
Lee said Pfeiffer and her boyfriend allegedly had an argument over money, which led to Pfeiffer first leaving and then returning to the apartment house to deliberately set her boyfriend’s clothes on fire.
Pfeiffer and her boyfriend lived on the first floor of the apartment house.
Blanchard and her boyfriend lived upstairs.
The flames jumped from the first floor to the second, leading to the death of Blanchard, according to the DA’s office.