The Calloway County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on Wednesday, allegedly in connection with the Almo house fire that claimed the life of Lisa Bebber on May 19.
That man is Jody Smith, 63, of Kirksey. Smith was charged with murder and first-degree arson. In a separate but related case, he was charged with receiving stolen property and theft by deception. While bond was set at $5,000 cash in the theft case, he is being held with no bond in the other.
Smith allegedly set fire to Bebber’s home after assaulting her, then fled the scene, according to the complaint warrant in the murder-arson case. Smith was assisted in fleeing by Kayla Rosson, a friend of Bebber and Smith, who was there when the fire began.
Rosson told CCSO she drove Smith to Bebber’s home on 297 Saddlebrook Lane around 9 p.m. after the latter returned home from Serenity, a non-residential sobriety program. Smith and Bebber proceeded to argue over a truck parked in the driveway.
The truck, a 2002 Chevrolet Avavalanche, belonged to Nathan Ham, who was arrested in April and remains in custody at the Calloway County Detention Center.
By Rosson’s account, she saw Smith strike Bebber in the face during the argument, causing her to fall. After that, she went outside for an unspecified period before coming back in to say goodbye to Bebber. When she walked back into the kitchen, Smith had doused the house with “liquid from a metal container” before lighting it with a butane lighter.
Rosson said she yelled at Smith to get out of the house. She then took him to his house.
A CCSO press release said the arson-murder investigation remains ongoing. The agency thanked Calloway County Fire Rescue, the Calloway County Coroner's Office, the Kentucky State Police and the Marshall County Sheriff's Office for assisting in the investigation.
On May 20, Ham reported his truck was stolen. According to the charging documents in the theft case, Ham told deputies his family members were going to retrieve the truck after his arrest in April, but only days after his incarceration, it was missing. Ham said the only keys to the vehicle were locked up with him in the jail’s inmate property.
Authorities located the truck at Green’s Towing in Benton, with its transmission and drive shaft missing, the complaint warrant stated. Green’s Towing took the vehicle from Jody’s residence on Marigold Drive after he sold it to them for a check of $400, with a $250 towing charge. After the vehicle was brought to the CCSO impound lot, authorities determined none of Ham’s belongings were present.
Smith appeared in Calloway District Court Wednesday for arraignment in both cases. Calloway District Judge Randall Hutchens set bond at $5,000 cash in the theft case but set no bond in the murder-arson case.
Smith is scheduled to return for preliminary hearings at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24.
Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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