- It really would’ve been so much easier to just call the wedding off.
Egads! The bride said no and left the groom standing confounded at the altar. What a dramatic turn of events!
This Utah groom-to-be probably wishes his beloved had just walked away like that instead of setting fire to the wedding venue.
Lenita “Tessa” Joy Moreno, 25, has been arrested following a strange attempt to sabotage her own wedding. The day before the big event, the Mormon meetinghouse where the ceremony was supposed to take place caught fire under mysterious circumstances.
Thanks to the quick action of those present, the fire didn’t destroy the place, but it did cause significant damage. During the following investigation, the authorities discovered the burned remnants of a tampon that had apparently been used to start the fire.
And who had been in that room right before the blaze started? Why, it was Moreno.
Further digging revealed that Moreno had stolen the lighter she used from a local hardware store. She had reportedly also lied about acquiring a marriage license, so her union couldn’t have been officially sealed on her big day anyway.
The police investigation into the case is ongoing. Meanwhile, Moreno has been arrested on suspicion of arson.
Fire, Fire!
The odd events took place on July 10 in Kaysville, a city just 20 miles north of Salt Lake City. On that day, there was a lot of hustle and bustle at a local Mormon meetinghouse.
Moreno, together with her fiancé and their family members, was decorating the venue for their wedding. The ceremony was scheduled for the next day, so they were really just putting finishing touches on things.
Right before they were about to leave, the building’s fire alarm went off, according to a report in The Salt Lake Tribunal. Looking for the cause, the group discovered one of the rooms used for storing chairs was on fire.
Fortunately, the blaze hadn’t grown out of control. Using a fire extinguisher and “water from the wedding decorations,” the family put out the fire.
Whew, what a close call! The building was a little scorched, but surely the ceremony the next day could go on.
That may have been, if not for the details that soon surfaced.
Intentional Arson
Once the police and firefighters arrived at the scene, they found something suspicious in the room that caught fire. Under one pile of chairs, they found a scorched tampon in its applicator.
The fire investigators determined that the fire had started with this pile of chairs, and the initial source had been that tampon. Someone must have set it on fire and intentionally tucked it under the chair.
But who could’ve done such a thing? During what I can only imagine being an incredibly awkward moment, the suspicious eyes turned to Moreno and the groom.
The two had been in the room just before the fire started. So, which was the culprit?
The groom, whose name has not been disclosed, gave his account, stating he had no idea what had happened. But once the investigators started talking to Moreno, things got really weird.
Her Bizarre Story
According to a probable cause statement, Moreno initially provided the police with a name different from her own. She also gave the cops a false birth date.
Something fishy was definitely going on. As the officers kept digging, they soon discovered more peculiar things.
The groom had stated that he and Moreno had gone to a local Ace Hardware store earlier that day. While verifying that claim over security footage, the cops noticed Moreno acting suspiciously.
While her husband-to-be stepped away, Moreno slipped two lighters into her shoes. She then walked away without paying for them.
When questioned, Moreno allegedly admitted to stealing something from the hardware store. She wouldn’t say what it was, however.
“[She] was asked prior to this about having a lighter. [She] said she does not carry a lighter and does not smoke, nor would she need one,” the probable cause statement reads.
As if that wasn’t enough, the investigation also unveiled one last odd detail. Moreno had claimed that she’d acquired a marriage license for the wedding. In reality, she had not.
“The bride did not obtain a marriage license for her own wedding that was to occur the following day after the fire but had lied stating she had,” the statement claims.
‘Deceptive’ Bride
With that, Moreno was arrested on July 27. She has been charged with aggravated arson, retail theft, and providing false information to law enforcement officials.
Although no one was hurt and the fire was put out relatively quickly, it did seriously damage the building. According to Fox News, the fire caused more than $108,000 in damages.
For now, Moreno is being held without bail in the Davis County Jail. No motive for her actions and falsehoods has been established. However, according to the police statement, she was “deceptive” and had taken “drastic steps to hide her lies.”
As to whether the wedding is still happening later, reports don’t say.