AN alleged arsonist ‘smirked’ when police told her the size of a fire she is accused of starting at a flat in Oxford, a court has heard.

Luanne Brain, 36, of Leiden Road, Oxford, is accused of starting a fire that caused an estimated £51,000-worth of damage to a flat in Scrutton Close, Headington, on May 2, 2021.

She is accused of putting an open flame to a ‘combustible object’ in the centre of the flat which belongs to Response Organisation, a housing service for people with mental health illnesses.

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A trial has started at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday (March 7) but Brain is not present as she has been deemed unfit to stand trial.

However, a jury must still decide whether or not Brain committed the count of arson.

At the start of the trial, it was heard Brain had been living in the flat alone.

Brain was described by a senior support worker as ‘never keen’ to take her medication as they made her ‘drowsy’.

On the morning of May 2, it was noted that Brain had not emerged from her flat to take her medication but the senior support worker decided to wait until after lunch to see if she emerged.

He was visiting another resident underneath Brain’s flat at about 11.45am when he heard ‘loud bangs’ coming from above ‘like something being dropped on the floor’.

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He knocked on the flat but Brain did not answer.

The court was told he could see an arm through the glass balcony at about 11.50am.

He went back to the office and called Brain on the phone but there was no answer.

It was then that the fire alarm went off and the support worker called the emergency services, the court heard. 

The block of flats were evacuated and it was found that Brain was not inside.

However, she was later located and interviewed by police.

It was reported that Brain was allegedly ‘evasive and on edge’ and when asked if she had anything to do with the fire starting, she ‘responded sarcastically’: “I might have done.”

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She was arrested by police who stated Brain was allegedly ‘smirking’ and ‘sounded pleased’ when she was told how big the fire had become.

The jury officer that a fire officer who investigated the flat concluded that, in his opinion, the fire had been started deliberately and was caused by ‘bringing a naked flame to a combustible item’.

The trial continues.