Girls reportedly admit to attacking mother
Local Crime News
EPHRATA - Two Moses Lake girls allegedly admitted to trying to kill their adoptive mother by setting a fire in her bedroom while she was taking a shower.
Ashley N. Moyer, 16, and Lily M. Moyer, 17, are each charged with attempted murder in the second degree in Grant County Superior Court, according to court records.
State law allows 16- and 17-year-old juveniles committing serious offenses to be charged as adults, according to state law.
Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz set bail for both girls at $50,000 each.
The girls allegedly told police they planned to kill their adoptive mother by first putting Ibuprofen and high blood pressure medicine into the woman's tea, and then setting fire to her room when she was asleep, according to a Moses Lake police report. Lily Moyer reportedly took the pills and gave them to her sister.
Ashley Moyer allegedly told police she put the drugs in the woman's tea the night before the fire, but the victim dumped out the cup before drinking any of it, according to the police report. The girls allegedly stayed with the plan to set fire to the house.
Ashley Moyer allegedly took gasoline from the garage and poured it on the carpet in their mother's bedroom while the woman was taking a shower in an adjoining bathroom. She reportedly used a piece of toilet paper to light the gas and closed the bedroom door, according to court records. The girls reportedly left the residence, walking to a house about 350 to 400 yards away, past several other residences, before calling the fire department.
Police claim the girls packed clothing into backpacks, and threw them over a fence into a neighboring yard before leaving the residence.
The victim was alerted to the fire when fire alarms went off, and found flames about 5 to 6 inches high, according to court documents. She put out most of the fire using wet towels, before firefighters arrived.
Investigators determined the fire was set intentionally due to the smell of gasoline and the burn pattern on the carpet.
The victim allegedly told police she had problems with the girls stealing and trying to run away in the past. She had caught them stealing a week prior to the fire and had grounded them, according to the police report.
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