Former University employee Norah Callan, suspected of setting a rash of fires in Ann Arbor, will undergo a series of psychiatric tests to determine if she is mentally fit to stand trial on two felonious arson-related charges.
Callan, a former University clerk, was granted a defense motion requesting a complete psychiatric evaluation by Washtenaw County District Court Judge Elizabeth Hines late Wednesday afternoon.
Sgt. Larry Jerue of the Ann Arbor Police Department confirmed that Callan is the key suspect in as many as "70 suspicious fires in the last five years." Callan was arrested March 28 after being suspected of setting fires in the front and back seats of a car.
"The maximum sentence for both counts is five years in prison. Currently she is being held under a $500,000 bond," Jerue said.
A special task force of federal, state and local arson investigators has been working to try to link Callan with a chain of deliberate arsons committed to motor vehicles and structures fires set on the campus and surrounding areas.
The task force included the AAPD, Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department officials and the Department of Public Safety.
Hines' order allows Callan to undergo a 45-day period of evaluation by mental health officials from the State Center for Forensic Psychiatry. The findings of the center will be disclosed on June 11, when Callan returns to court.
Many of the blazes, investigators say, caused relatively little damage, while others caused extensive property damage and endangered the lives of occupants.
DPS detectives are currently investigating a possible link between Callan and a fire that took place in January on the second level of Mason Hall that caused more than $100,000 in damage.
Following Callan's arrest, the AAPD Special Investigations Unit seized journals, shoes, disposable lighters and articles of clothing that the police and prosecutors hope will tie Callan to the case.
Detective Sgt. Roy Mays of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department said the fires that destroyed a car and a mobile home at Scio Farms Estates three weeks ago were similar to at least six other fires that have been reported.
"The damage has been fairly extensive to various objects - cars, trash dumpsters," Mays said. "There have been enough of these fires to show that there's a serious problem. It has cost Scio Township over a million dollars."