Last week, the manager was arrested for setting the fire. Now police have arrested the woman the manager says told him to do it.
Felicity Burris is being held at the Harris County Jail, charged with arson. The brand new mother was arrested Tuesday. Arson investigators now believe as she was getting closer and closer to her due date, she also was conspiring to burn down her own business.
Two months ago, owner Felicity Burris, who was eight months pregnant, was too distraught to face the cameras after her Midtown restaurant, Late Nite Pie, was in ruins. So manager Raymond Pecher stepped in.
"We've busted our butts to try and get this place to come back to life the way that it was, and to see it like this is just heartbreaking," Pecher told Eyewitness News the night of the fire.
Pecher was charged with arson last week, and according to court documents, then implicated Burris. He allegedly admitted to setting the building on fire using lighter fluid and gasoline at her request.
Burris did not appear as a judge assigned her case to a court. She was arrested on an arson charge at her Bellaire home Tuesday afternoon. As we walked up those in the driveway retreated and didn't answer questions.
"Are you Felicity's husband?" we asked a man at her home.
Burris gave birth in the last two weeks. A sign on the side of the house indicates she had a baby girl.
Pecher was arrested after surveillance video from a business across the street showed him exiting the restaurant, say investigators, just a few minutes before the fire. According to court documents, Late Nite Pie was in financial trouble.
Burris' personal assistant told investigators he heard her saying "I'm tired of it, I just want it gone, I want it to burn."
On the morning of the fire, Pecher told us, "She's a wreck and she's pregnant. I don't know what to say. She is heartbroken."
Sources say Pecher and Burris have known each other since high school.
Burris is currently on probation for credit card abuse so she's being held without bond. She's scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
