BEMIDJI, Minn. — A 35-year-old woman was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to murder in a deadly arson case last year in Cass Lake.
Cora Lee Quaderer entered her plea in Beltrami County Court on Tuesday, admitting that the evidence presented against her was enough for a jury to find her guilty. Immediately following the plea, Quaderer was sentenced to life in prison.
According to court documents, several law enforcement agencies were called to a fire at around 7 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2022 in Cass Lake, Minnesota. When officials arrived, a pull camper was fully engulfed in flames with witnesses reporting a man inside.
The criminal complaint says witnesses tried to remove an air conditioning unit from a window to help the man escape, but the flames spread too quickly and the man died. Court documents identified the victim as Roy Lovelace.
Witnesses told investigators that they could hear Quaderer and Lovelace arguing inside the camper prior to the fire. One of the witnesses said they heard Quaderer yelling that she would "destroy" the camper if Lovelace didn't let her in. Witnesses told investigators that Quaderer lit a large piece of cloth on fire and then threw it toward the front door of the camper. The door immediately caught fire, and spread throughout the camper, according to court documents.
Quaderer fled the scene but was located the next day at a gas station in Brooklyn Center.
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