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Woman blows up herself and home with dozens of cats inside following eviction threat

A New Jersey woman who was threatened with being evicted from her home has died after blowing up her property along with the dozens of cats she lived there with

[A New Jersey womans fight against eviction ended in a deadly blaze Wednesday when she intentionally started a fire in the home she shared with dozens of cats]

A womans fight against eviction ended in a deadly blaze when she intentionally started a fire in the home she shared with dozens of cats(Image: CBS New York)

A woman's fight against the threat of eviction from her home met a tragically premature end on Wednesday (March 1) after she blew herself up in the property along with the dozens of cats she owned.

Authorities in Roosevelt, New Jersey, say the deliberate fire broke out shortly after 11am and quickly engulfed the entire house.

Police had recently served the as yet unnamed individual with an eviction notice, which led to her threatening to her to carry out the awful act that ultimately unfolded.

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According to CBS News, Lieutenant Lawrence Peele of New Jersey State Police said: "Were getting reports that the resident turned on the gas of the residence prior to igniting."

[State police had served the unidentified woman an eviction notice but she refused to leave and threatened to blow up the house.]

State police had served the unidentified woman an eviction notice but she refused to leave and threatened to blow up the house(Image: CBS New York)

Cops said neighbours were evacuated during their standoff with the woman before the drama unfolded.

One of those neighbours, Erin Luca, told the same outlet: "They knocked on our door this morning. Thank God it was a pretty loud knock. I grabbed [my son]. They told us to leave. She was threatening with a bomb or to bomb the house and ended up with a fire."

And Emma Quackenbush, who lived in the attached unit for more than two decades told local radio she had lost everything in the fire.

She said: "It looks like my house is gone. Its still standing but its not liveable."

[The woman had an on-site cat house, although it is unclear as yet as to how many felines perished in the blaze]

The woman had an on-site cat house, although it is unclear as yet as to how many felines perished in the blaze(Image: CBS New York)

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A third local resident said it was the woman's boyfriend that had tried for several years to get her evicted, but his "efforts had been hindered" by the local governor's "pandemic-era eviction moratorium".

Fire crews were subsequently called but were unable to retrieve her from the blaze alive.

The home was so badly damaged it has been deemed uninhabitable in the future.

Roosevelt's Mayor Peggy Malkin told local press that the woman worked as a "pet-sitter" and had an on-site "cat house".

Its unclear how many perished, however.

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