'She's Obviously a Bit Confused'

Confused? That's putting it mildly.

Police say a woman set fire to her mobile home after dousing it with gasoline and leaving a propane tank and several pipe bombs inside, then drove to a storage unit and set fire to her car before running naked down Highway 95.

Seven agencies converged in Payette on Sunday responding to calls of a booby-trapped mobile home and possible bomb threat on Highway 95.

Local, state and federal law enforcement spent the afternoon securing two locations: the mobile home park on N 9th Street and a two-mile stretch of highway 95 north of 7th St. N.

Using a robot, the bomb squad blew up pipes made to look like bombs that were left at the trailer park.

"Along with a note saying the trailer house was booby-trapped and prepared to explode," Chief of Police Mark Clark said.

The incident started with a fire of the mobile home doused with gasoline. Around 11 a.m. Sunday crews got another fire call that a car off of Highway 95 was set on fire.

Payette police later apprehended the owner of the mobile home and car, Catherine Carlson, 54, running down the highway naked.

"At this point we're not real sure her state of mind," he said. "She's obviously a bit confused."
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"She has made some comments to investigators about her motive," Clark said.

Those comments? Carlson is transgendered. Thirty years ago she was Daniel Carlson. Ever since she's been fighting to forget her past. Police say this odd chain of events seems like that fight reached a boiling point.

Clark says Carlson is charged with two felonies, first degree arson and unlawful possession of bombs or destructive devices. Additional charges may be filed involving arson on her car. The vehicle is being investigated by the Payette County Sheriff's Office.