Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced today that Frederick Devin Smith, 33, and Monica Marie Burnett, 18, both of Carroll County, have been arrested in connection with a
January 4th fire that destroyed a historic church in Bowden, Georgia.

“This needless fire completely destroyed the 121-year-old Smith Chapel Church featured on the National Historical Register,” said Commissioner King. “Our investigators assisted the Carroll County Fire Department
and Carroll County Sheriff’s Department with this case.”

Smith was arrested by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and charged with Arson in the 2nd Degree and Possession of Methamphetamine, while Burnett was arrested and charged with Arson in the 2nd Degree.