Sleeping couple's home set ablaze; man accused of starting fire also tried to douse it

CLYDE, N.C. (WLOS) — A man accused of setting a Haywood County couple's home on fire while they were sleeping inside in late March is behind bars.

On Wednesday, neighbors of Jody and Bill Russell spoke with News 13 about the night it happened.

“My husband called and said get Huntley up and get over to Billy’s, his house is on fire,” said Beverly Cogburn, who lives across the road from the couple in the Fines Creek community.

The Russells were asleep inside as the flames continued to grow. So, Cogburn and her son Huntley rushed over to help.

“To know that they were safe was the main thing, that was the main concern," Cogburn said. "One building was completely engulfed. From over here, it looked like the whole house was on fire.”

The Russells made it out of the home, but it wasn’t the smoke and flames that woke them up.

“They heard an explosion. Propane tanks and gas in the barns and they heard an explosion and that’s what woke them up,” Huntley said.

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Beverly and Huntley did what they could to comfort the Russells while they waited for firefighters.

“Huntley actually sat with her to keep her calm and make sure she was OK while I ran up to try to help,” Beverly explained.

She said once they knew the couple was out and OK and the fire was still going, they noticed something strange. They said a man was standing next to the home with a hose spraying the fire even before firefighters got to the scene.

“Jody was like, 'Is that Brandon,?' which is my husband. I said, 'No Jody, I don’t know who that is.'”

No one else on the scene did either. That man has now been identified as 48-year-old Larry Rathbone.

“He didn’t say anything. He was just hanging out. It was unsettling because he had this look on his face like he didn’t care, like he had no idea what was going on,” Huntley said.

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Beverly said what made it even stranger was that Rathbone stayed on the scene to help fight the fire.

On Wednesday, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Rathbone had been arrested and charged with multiple felonies, including first-degree arson. He’s now being held on a $160,000 bond.

The sheriff’s office said the homeowners and suspect did not know each other. So far, there’s no word of any possible motive.

“It’s horrible. It’s devastating to them. I mean, I don’t know what the motive was, what the frame of mind was, but it’s terrible to think that anything like that could happen to anybody,” Beverly said.

Now, Beverly, Huntley and the community are rallying around the Russells by planning a fundraising event for May 4 at the Fines Creek school gym, with all proceeds to help the couple replace some of what they lost in the blaze.

“If you can, please help. If not, pray.”