Derica Wiggins Tennessee woman sets bed on fire as ex boyfriend & new girlfriend & baby slept under comforter. Former love interest faces slew of charges. A sobering examination of domestic abuse and stalking against men by women.
Love doesn’t live here anymore… A Tennessee woman has been arrested, several months after she allegedly tried to set fire to her ex-boyfriend’s bed while he, his new girlfriend, and her baby slept.
Derica B. Wiggins, 20, was taken into custody on Friday and charged in connection with the alleged attack.
Wiggins was charged with one count each of aggravated arson, setting fire to another’s personal property, and reckless burning, as well as two counts of aggravated assault.
Security film from doorbell shows suspect entering and soon after exiting ex boyfriend residence on night of attempted arson
A copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by WREG-TV, described police and firefighters responding on the night of March 1, 2023 to an emergency 911 call regarding a fire at a residence located in the 6100 block of Park Grove. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said that the fire had been put out quickly after it started. The report stated the man, woman, and baby all being able to escape unharmed.
The three victims’ identities were not publicly divulged by authorities.
During police questioning, the female victim reportedly said that she woke up hearing what she believed to be the sound of someone trying to light a lighter outside of the bedroom where she was sleeping with her new boyfriend and baby. She also noted that she could see what appeared to be someone looking into the bedroom through a crack in the door, but assumed it was one of her boyfriend’s siblings and went back to sleep.
A short while later, she awoke to find that the comforter covering all three being on fire.
The boyfriend told police that he woke up to the flaming comforter and was able to extinguish the flames. He then left the bedroom and found Wiggins in the driveway where the two got into a confrontation, Law & Crime reported.
Police also reviewed security footage from a Ring doorbell showing a woman who appeared to be Wiggins entering the residence and then leaving a short time later on the night of the fire.
While none of the victims were injured in the blaze, authorities stated the inside of the bedroom showing signs of smoke damage along with the comforter being significantly burned.
Wiggins remains held in the Shelby County Jail on $150,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear before a judge on Tuesday.
General domestic violence statistics
- While the perception of domestic violence between heterosexual couples is thought to be men, studies in fact show women being consistent perpetrators of domestic abuse against men, not necessarily physically but sexually and psychologically.
Notes the hotline.org: An average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a single year.
Nearly 3 in 10 women (29%) and 1 in 10 men (10%) in the US have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by a partner and reported it having a related impact on their functioning.
Just under 15% of women (14.8%) and 4% of men in the US have been injured as a result of intimate partner violence that included rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.
1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 and older in the US have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people every year.
Over 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the US have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Almost half of all women and men in the US have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime (48.4% and 48.8%, respectively).
Women ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 generally experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence.
From 1994 to 2010, approximately 4 in 5 victims of intimate partner violence were female.
Most female victims of intimate partner violence were previously victimized by the same offender at rates of 77% for women ages 18 to 24, 76% for ages 25 to 34, and 81% for ages 35 to 49.
Stalking statistics
1 in 6 women (16.2%) and 1 in 19 men (5.2%) in the US have been a victim of stalking at some point during their lifetime in which they felt fearful or believed that they (or someone close to them) would be harmed or killed.
Two-thirds (66.2%) of female stalking victims were stalked by current or former intimate partners.
Men who were stalked were primarily stalked by partners (41.4%) or acquaintances (40%).
The most common stalking tactic experienced by both female (78.8%) and male (75.9%) victims of stalking was repeated unwanted phone calls, voice, or text messages.
Estimates suggest 10.7% of women and 2.1% of men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime.
