Michigan woman accused of setting husband on fire charged with killing popular butcher in house fire
A Michigan woman accused of setting her husband on fire while he was sleeping was arrested last week for allegedly pulling the same evil trick to kill a popular butcher shop owner.
Julie Boxley, 52, was charged with first-degree murder and arson Friday in connection to the death of her employer and roommate Glenn Andrews earlier this year, online court records show.
Andrews’ home was mysteriously set on fire in March, and the 72-year-old butcher, who was inside, succumbed to injuries he sustained in the blaze two weeks later.
He was the owner of Glenn’s Smokehouse, which sold specialty meats in Ishpeming, a city on the Northern Peninsula.
Boxley had moved in with Andrews and his wife, Linda, shortly before the fire to help take care of Linda, who was sick, the couple’s daughter Jill told the Upper Michigan Source.
The alleged pyromaniac had worked as a caretaker for Linda years ago before moving to the nearby Alger County — where she is accused of dousing her husband with a liquid and throwing a match at him.
“She appeared on his front porch one day and said, ‘I need a job do you still need help?’ And he said yes, and she said I also need a place to live, and we thought this is great,” Jill told the outlet.
The grieving family said they were shocked to learn that their mother’s dedicated caretaker may be responsible for Andrews’ death, saying they considered her a member of their family.
“When the detective told us all the information that he had and then laid it all out for us I was completely beside myself. I couldn’t believe that a person that was so invested in this family … would do that to them. I was just yeah, unbelievable,” the couple’s daughter-in-law Melissa said.
Boxley spent several weeks in the hospital recovering from injuries she sustained in the fire she allegedly set.
Members of her family even set up a GoFundMe campaign to help Boxley get back on her feet after losing everything in the blaze. The campaign raised more than $2,200.
“They awoke to smoke beginning to fill the bedroom and soon discovered the entire bottom floor was engulfed in flames. Glenn, her roommate, had gone down the stairs but quickly had to escape through the back door,” the fundraiser said.
“Julie was able to jump out of her 2nd story window to safety. She ended up with smoke inhalation and frostbite on her feet after having to run around barefoot, but Glenn wasn’t as lucky.”
At the time of the inferno, Boxley was awaiting trial for allegedly attempting to set her now ex-husband on fire on Christmas Day in 2021.
James Boxley, who was her husband at the time, has testified that she poured a liquid on him and threw matches while he was sleeping.
James Boxley claims he threw the burning blanket out the window, but his wife continued charging at him while lighting matches and yelling that she hated him.
“Ms. Boxley has a history of mental illness, and I think that when we get all the stuff back from the forensic center, we will all see how severely ill she was at the time,” defense lawyer Jennifer France said in August when a judge found enough evidence to order a trial.
Boxley was charged with great bodily harm less than murder and assault with intent to murder for the attack on her then-husband. She pleaded not guilty and has a pretrial scheduled next month.
She is scheduled to appear in court regarding Andrews’ death on Nov. 27.
With Post Wires
