Stephanie Mostellar, a Phoenix, Arizona resident, feels like she’s stuck in a very expensive trap set by an arsonist. In December of 2024, she parked her Toyota Prius in the same spot she’d always parked it. Then, in the middle of the night, she woke up to find it engulfed in flames.

Within an hour, the car was destroyed. The front end had all but melted away, the engine was damaged beyond repair, and most of the interior was turned to ash. She took the loss and bought herself a brand new Dodge Charger to replace the Toyota.

Then, four months later, she woke up to a familiar glow coming from outside of her window. On March 28, around 2 a.m., her Charger, which was parked in the same spot as the Prius, was on fire. Despite having no history of mechanical or electrical issues.

Like the Prius, the Charger was declared a total loss by her insurance company.

“It’s completely burnt. There were flames extremely high,” she told 12News. “Just trying to figure it out on my own is really taxing. I don’t know what to do. I feel at a loss financially… Now that it’s happened again, I do feel targeted and unsafe, and I now have reason to believe that the Toyota was potentially set on fire.”

Police don’t have enough evidence to suggest a person started both fires

When her Prius was destroyed by the fire, an arson specialist came to evaluate the damage. The department couldn’t confirm whether or not an arsonist was suspected, as it’s still under investigation.

Now that her Dodge Charger caught on fire while parked in the same parking spot, police confirmed this incident is under investigation, too. Mostellar is confused and scared, as she feels like she hasn’t crossed anyone who could do this twice.

Understandably, while the police investigate both instances, she feels like she’s at risk.

“I feel scared, honestly, for my life,” she said. “Because if somebody’s capable of doing this twice, I feel scared for what else they’re capable of doing.”

Viewers were equally as confused

Naturally, some were quick to assume that it was an ex-boyfriend or maybe a stalker in her complex. Others suspect she might be leaving a few details out.

“It looks like an insurance scam to me,” one viewer wrote.

Another said she should reevaluate the “good connections” she made in the state.

“She obviously pissed somebody off, she doesn’t know who she pissed off,” they wrote.

Someone else said if she was scared, she should have opted to decline an interview on camera.

“If she fears for her life, why is she on camera?” they asked.