Campbell woman pleads guilty in nursing home fire

DEXTER, Mo. -- A Campbell, Mo., woman charged with lighting an occupied nursing home bed on fire in November pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Joyce Johnson, 59, was charged with first-degree elderly abuse and first-degree arson.

She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree elderly abuse.

According to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver, as part of the plea agreement, she was sentenced to eight years in prison.

According to a report filed by Lt. Det. Trevor Pulley of the Dexter Police Department, a fire was reported at Golden Living Center-Dexter. Afterward, the fire department requested Dexter police officers come to investigate.

Pulley said the bed of a 73-year-old resident, a roommate of Johnson's mother, had been set on fire with the resident asleep in the bed. There were two residents in the room and neither was injured by the blaze.

The fire was localized to one end of the victim's bed.

A witness said there were flames above the bed. No accelerant was believed to have been used. The bed appeared to be working properly and had no mechanical or electrical problems, the report said.

Before the fire, Johnson had been visiting her mother in the room. An employee entered the room, but left. The fire is believed to have been started some time between 8:46 and 8:55 a.m.

Employees were interviewed, and several noted that Johnson had been the last person in the room.

In the initial interview, Pulley said, Johnson denied any involvement with the fire. In another interview, she admitted to having set the fire.

Pulley wrote that Johnson said she was visiting her mother and her leg was bleeding. Johnson said she had no problem with the roommate whose bed she allegedly set on fire and did not intend to hurt anyone.

Johnson then admitted to setting the fire with a lighter and that she had thrown the lighter away but could not remember where.

During the interview, Johnson said that she had not thought about setting the fire the night before. She simply used the lighter to light the sheet on fire and then left the room and went to her cousin's room just down the hall. Johnson stated she hadn't been gone long when the fire was noticed.

She claims the incident was a "cry for help".

She was arrested in Dunklin County on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.