Court records say Bemidji woman tied up before her home was set on fire
The body of Melissa Norby was found in the burned wreckage of her Bemidji mobile home earlier this month.
Her death figured into a kidnapping investigation, and police released few details. Now court records say the 35-year-old Bemidji woman was tied up under a mattress when her home was doused with accelerant and set ablaze.
Fire crews were called to the Hillcrest Manor trailer park early the morning of June 22. They found Norby's mobile home fully engulfed and when the flames were extinguished, they found Norby's body inside.
The 5-year-old daughter of a family friend, who was staying with Norby at the time of the fire, was missing.
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A 24-hour missing person investigation found the girl alive, tied with duct tape in a pop-up camper north of Bemidji. Jacob William Kinn, 32, is charged with her kidnapping, but police are still building a case in Norby's death.
A search warrant seeking access to Norby's Facebook and social media records identified her as the owner of the burned trailer and described how she was found.
Several neighbors identified Norby's body and said she used Facebook to communicate with friends and to find dates. The warrant says she may have used the site to make contact with a suspect in the case.
Norby's body was sent to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office after the fire. Autopsy results have not been released.
Kinn, a food truck driver, remains in the Beltrami County Jail. The kidnapping charges make no mention of Kinn's possible role in Norby's death or the mobile home fire.