Greenfield woman gets 24 years for burning down home, killing puppies during bitter divorce
Jan 10, 2025
GREENFIELD, Ind. — A Greenfield woman going through a bitter divorce set fire to her home in a failed bid at collecting insurance money.
But the fire claimed more than her home. Multiple dogs, including a litter of Bichon Frisé puppies, were killed in the fire.
On Thursday, Kristina Sell learned the consequences of her actions. Those consequences came with little leniency.
Found guilty of multiple counts of arson after a four-day jury trial, a judge leveled a maximum 24-year sentence against Sell on Thursday. Sell was ordered to spend the next 20 years behind bars, the final four years of her sentence suspended to probation.
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Booking photo of Kristina Sell (Hancock Co. Jail)
Previous reports detail the fiery story in which Sell, in the midst of a bitter divorce, removed her soon-to-be ex-husband from the deed of their home and set fire to the residence on W. Lake Drive.
Sell didn't hide her intentions, threatening in the past to burn the house down, collect the insurance money and move to Arkansas.
It also wasn't the first time she set fire to a structure on their property.
Roughly a week before the house went up in flames, a neighbor spotted Sell's shed on fire. Sell's husband had reportedly locked his possessions in the shed to stop Sell from stealing them. Sell burned them instead.
“It’s not illegal to set your own shed on fire," she reportedly said about the shed fire.
A week later, police were called back out to Sell's home due to the house being on fire. The fire started in the laundry room and was extinguished before any major damage occurred.
But when police opened the laundry room, they found three dead adult dogs and seven dead puppies. Sell's husband told police he purchased the dogs with intentions to breed and sell Bichon Frisé puppies. The litter of puppies weren't long for this world, born not long before the fire killed them.
The very next day, fire crews again returned to Sell's home. This time, the house was engulfed in flames.
A witness reportedly spotted Sell leaving the home only minutes before the fire. Police also found personal items stored in her car, as if taken out of the home to be spared from the fire.
During Sell's trial, more than 100 exhibits of evidence were presented to support the charges against her. She ended up being found guilty of four counts of arson and one count of animal cruelty.
“This maximum sentence reflects the gravity of Kristina Sell’s actions and the devastation they caused to both property and innocent lives,” said Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton. “I want to specifically commend Deputy Prosecutor Mellisa Lewis for her outstanding work in presenting this case and Fire Investigator Andy Neumeister for his exceptional efforts in uncovering the truth and ensuring justice was served.”