HIAWASSEE - A 17-year-old boy is dead after an arson fire at a mobile home in Towns County, and the ex-boyfriend of the girl he was living with is charged with the crime.
Sheriff Rudy Eller says 24-year-old Jimmy Peterson set the fire at the home of Julie Ann Rogers, 20, and that Jared Shook died in the blaze.
"(Peterson was) a distraught boyfriend," Eller says.
The suspect has been arrested and has confessed to starting the fire, according to Sheriff Eller. "He says he did not know anyone was in the trailer," Eller added.
Rogers says she and Peterson had not been a pair for sometime and she was somewhat afraid of him.
"After we broke up I was afraid of him," Rogers says. "I was afraid of what he would do."
Rogers and Shook had since moved in together.
Though she lost her current boyfriend and all her possessions because of the fire, Rogers says she is able to start again.
"I have family and friends," she says. "That's all I need."
So far Peterson is only charged with arson in connection with the Monday fire.
Wednesday
April 30th, 2025
10:57PM
