Hate Crime Hoax? Tennessee Couple Accused Of Burning Their Own Home

A gay couple in Tennessee are accused of hoaxing a hate crime in an attempt to get their neighbors in trouble. The Daily Caller reports that Carol Anne Stutte and Laura Jean Stutte sued their neighbor after claiming that she vandalized their home by spraying the word “Queers” on their garage before burning down their house. The hard work of investigators from multiple agencies revealed that their claims were not true.

After their home was burned down in 2010, the Stuttes claimed that their neighbor Janice Millsaps had made threats in the past. They also claimed that the woman “berated” them with homophobic insults and death threats. However, after the gay couple tried to collect insurance from the disaster, Missouri National Insurance found that they couldn’t prove their claims. Their insurance claim was ultimately denied, given the fact that the accused neighbor passed a polygraph test. It became evident to authorities that this was a hate crime hoax.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, along with the FBI, have taken part in the investigation, and they’ve found that no evidence backs up the claims made by the married couple. It’s because of these findings that the court could not rule in favor of the couple. A jury ruled against the Stuttes, citing that the damage to their home was done purposely. The jury also through out other claims.

So far, no charges have been brought up against the gay couple, but it’s been ruled that they intentionally set fire to their home after spray-painting anti-gay obscenities on it.

The Tennessee couple are not the only people to be accused of hoaxing a hate crime. In fact, the Inquisitr once reported on a young Utah man who carved the words “Die Fag” into his own arm in order to fake a hate crime assault. The gay business owner reportedly sought mental health help after police declared that he had faked the attack. In 2012, a Nebraska woman named Charlie Rogers was caught in a lie when she hoaxed a hate crime attack. She claimed that a group of men attacked her in her home and tried to set it on fire with her in the basement. She inflicted numerous injuries on herself, bringing mass media attention in belief that she had been assaulted for being a lesbian. However, authorities in Nebraska quickly found out that she did it all to herself for attention.

It’s hard to tell why people fake hate crimes. In the case of Tennessee couple Carol Ann and Laura Jean Stutte, it appears that there may have been monetary motivation — unlike other cases where the so called victims appeared to seek attention.

[Photo: Carol Ann Stutte and Laura Jean Stutte/Video screenshot]