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St. Petersburg woman, 53, burned in vacant house fire remains in critical condition

 
Published May 22, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG — The woman police said suffered severe burns in a fire that consumed a vacant home early Sunday has a history of arson, according to state records.

The woman, Natalie L. Rogers, 53, was arrested and charged with first-degree arson in 1995. She was deemed mentally unfit for trial, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.

Around 5 a.m. Sunday, firefighters found Rogers inside a vacant house at 911½ Ninth Ave. S with burns to 15 percent of her body, officials said. She was taken to Bayfront Medical Center, where she remained Monday.

It's still not clear what sparked the blaze, said St. Petersburg Police spokesman Bill Proffitt. An investigation is ongoing.

The house did not have any electricity and was not being lived in at the time of the incident. There has been no improvement in her medical condition, which emergency responders described as critical.

Investigators are not sure why Rogers was in the vacant house at the time of the incident.

There was no indication Rogers suffered trauma to her body before the fire, Proffitt said.

Rogers also has a history of criminal offenses, including robbery, prostitution and drug-related charges, according to state law enforcement records.

Her most recent run-in with the law came in November 2010, when she was arrested in a case of robbery by sudden snatching and soliciting for prostitution, records show. Those charges were dropped.

Marissa Lang can be reached at mlang@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8804.