Police, fire efforts lead to attempted arson conviction

On Tuesday, Kassandra Toruga pleaded guilty by reason of insanity to attempted arson.

She was sentenced to 7½ years in a mental health facility, but if she is rehabilitated she will serve out her sentence in a Department of Corrections facility.

Toruga admitted to trying to kill her pregnant friend and take the unborn baby.

Police first encountered the Homestead resident on Feb. 16, 2011 when responding to a fire she set in her friend’s closet in a home in the Cobblestone Farms subdivision.

At the scene, police discovered the 18-year-old woman in possession of two large butcher knives, a pair of scissors, diapers and baby clothes.

As personnel arrived on scene, they quickly assessed the situation and found enough evidence – clothing burned inside a closet along with suspicious behavior – to call in arson investigators.

As the investigators and police officers conducted interviews of the people inside the home, they discovered more evidence and learned of a series of events leading to Toruga's arrest.

After a several weeks of follow-up police work, Toruga confessed she had planned to murder her friend and cut the baby from her body.

“We knew something was wrong the moment we walked in the door and that this was going to be a unique investigation,” said Eddie Rodriguez, lead arson investigator and deputy fire marshal. “We quickly determined the cause of the fire to be suspicious and then worked closely with the police department to assist in the criminal investigation of Ms. Toruga.”