Woman accused of attacking deputy, trying to light house on fire

Audrey Sampson, 29, is charged with first-degree arson, first-degree domestic assault, first-degree felony assault, resisting arrest and first-degree property damage.

On Tuesday afternoon around 3:00 p.m., Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputies received a call about an argument in front of a home in the 400 block of Julie Court. Police said Sampson was arguing with her girlfriend.

When deputies arrived, Sampson ran back inside the home. The victim remained outside and told police Sampson was armed with knife.

When a deputy went inside, Sampson screamed "I am lighting the house on fire!" authorities say. The victim's elderly and disabled mother was inside the house at the time and required mobility assistance.

Police said the deputy walked down the house's hallway and spotted Sampson in front of a bedroom closet. Her clothes were on fire. Police said Sampson then lunged towards the deputy and scratched his left eye.

The deputy then held Sampson to the bedroom wall with his right hand and tried to extinguish the flames. During that time, however, police say Sampson grabbed a medical oxygen tank and began to release oxygen on the smoldering fire.

The deputy then grabbed the tank, threw it down the hallway and was able to place Sampson in custody.

Police said the victim told them she was in a romantic relationship with Sampson for three weeks and added that they lived together.

Earlier the same day, police believe the victim and Sampson got into an argument in their bedroom. Sampson allegedly climbed on top of the victim and pressed a hunting knife to her throat and puncturing the skin. Sampson then allegedly lit items on fire inside the house and bit the victim's forearm.

Police say Sampson also smashed several items in the house including a television, a glass coffee table, four exterior windows and other items. Sampson also allegedly threw a steak knife at the victim's mother, which struck her arm, but police say the victim's mother wasn't injured.

When questioned, police say Sampson admitted to trying to set the house on fire twice as part of an effort to kill the victim.

The deputy was treated and released from a hospital with a scratch to his left eye and a blister on his hand.

Sampson is being held in the Lincoln County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.