Texas woman sentenced to 6 years for Snohomish County church arson

Published 2:55 pm Thursday, September 4, 2025

EVERETT — A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a Texas woman to six years in prison Thursday in connection with the 2023 arson of the Seattle Laestadian Lutheran Church near Maltby.

Early in the morning of Aug. 25, 2023, the church at 22420 102nd Ave. SE was destroyed in a fire. The fire did more than $3.2 million in damage, a press release said. The church incurred additional costs renting a nearby middle school to hold services two to three times a week.

Though it was badly damaged, the church’s surveillance system partly survived, according to court documents.

Video footage showed a car arrive at the church around 1:20 a.m., according to the August charges filed in Superior Court. Someone allegedly exited the passenger side of the vehicle and walked toward the church carrying a white bag. The car left, and the person disappeared from the camera’s view.

A few minutes later, the person reappeared with an empty bag that was dripping with liquid, according to court documents. The suspect threw the bag into a dumpster and was seen pouring liquid from a red gas can onto the church wall.

Before the cameras stopped working, the footage showed a fire spreading from where the suspect poured the liquid, the charges say.

Flight records indicated O’Dell traveled to Washington on Aug. 19 to visit her mother and stepfather in Woodinville.

Cell phone data shows a device associated with O’Dell at the church from 1:13 a.m. to 1:20 a.m. the morning of the fire.

She told various acquaintances that she was angry about churches, specifically Seattle Laestadian Lutheran Church, O’Dell admitted in a plea agreement. She later told an acquaintance that she planned to burn a nearby church.

The investigation tied O’Dell to credit card purchases at a Shell gas station, where she purchased two lighters and more than a gallon of gasoline at 11:41 p.m. O’Dell took an Uber to the church to commit the arson, the release said.

One firefighter was injured while extinguishing the fire and was transported to an emergency room, the release said.

“Ms. O’Dell acted with extreme disregard for community safety when she poured more than a gallon of gasoline on the church building and used a lighter to start the blaze,” Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller said. “This conduct put anyone inside the church, the neighbors around the church, and the firefighters who responded in extreme danger. It is fortunate that only one firefighter suffered injuries.”

Authorities arrested Natasha O’Dell, 38, on suspicion of arson in August 2024 in Texas, and she’s been in custody ever since. In December 2024, a federal grand jury indicted O’Dell on three felony charges in connection with the fire.

In April 2025, O’Dell pleaded guilty to arson, damage to religious property and obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs.

U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead will determine the amount of restitution O’Dell owes during a hearing at a later date, the release said. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.

The case was investigated by the Snohomish County Fire Marshall’s Office and the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives.

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan