Rome man charged with murder after mother-in-law dies in fire

ROME, Ga. — A Rome man is accused of killing his mother-in-law and several animals following a real estate dispute over the weekend, an incident report reveals.

According to a report from the Rome Police Department, officers responded to a mobile home located on Addington Ct. Saturday in reference to a structure fire. It was also reported that a woman was trapped inside. When they arrived, they saw a single-wide trailer with flames coming from the roof and around the front door. The rear doors of the trailer were so engulfed in deadly flames that they could not enter.

When firefighters arrived on scene, one of the officers went to move his car and saw a shirtless man lying on the side of the road in the weeds and grass. The man, later identified as Timothy Lary, 26, raised his hands in the air, leading the officer to believe it was a defensive movement.

But then, when the officer got out of the car, the resident of the house tried to grab him to get his attention.

“He started the fire and my wife is inside! I want him to go to jail,” » the resident told the police officer, pointing to the shirtless man.

The officer then said he ran up to the man and asked if he had set the house on fire. According to the incident report, Lary admitted that was the case.

The man who said his wife was inside was identified as Lary's father. He told police his son had been upset all day, “getting angry.” He said his son's mother owned the land and they rented it to her. Lary believed the land belonged to him and wanted his mother to sell it so he could have money and live on his own. The incident report states that Lary wanted his father and stepmother removed from the property.

Lary allegedly told his father he was going to burn the house down the next day while they were at work. The incident report says Lary took a bunch of papers, set them on fire and threw them on a mattress in his bedroom.

The father said he yelled at his wife to get out and thought she was right behind him. But then he came out and his wife wasn't there. He thought she had gone back into the bedroom to save their small dogs and cat, according to the report.

At the scene, firefighters discovered the body of a woman inside. A dead cat was near her body and two small dogs were found in the master bedroom at the back of the house.

Once the fire was extinguished, a search warrant was obtained. During this time, officers seized evidence of a small torch lighter found in Lary's pocket, as well as a small amount of marijuana. Two other lighters were discovered and seized. One was on a lawn chair in the front yard and another was in the grass in the front yard near the road, according to the report.

As officers left the scene to interview Lary at the department, an officer recounted what the suspect allegedly said.

“As we were leaving Addington Ct, Timothy looked at the house and said with emotion: “Yeah, let him get your ashes,'” the officer wrote in the report.

Lary was arrested by Rome police and is charged with murder, aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, first degree arson, animal cruelty and neglect of a disabled adult, a senior citizen or resident, according to jail records.