More than two years after a Valentine’s Day apartment fire in northwest Miami left a woman fatally burned, Cutler Bay resident Shannon Felice Stork, 62, is now behind bars on murder and arson charges.
Investigators say the blaze broke out on February 14, 2024, inside an apartment along the 5100 block of Northwest 29th Avenue. Stork’s roommate suffered third-degree burns, was intubated, and died just over a month later on March 18, 2024. On July 22, 2026, detectives arrested Stork in connection with that fire, accusing her of setting the deadly blaze.
ATF testing and fire-science assistance
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives runs a dedicated Fire Research Laboratory and trains certified fire investigators who help local agencies test how fires start and spread. According to ATF, lab experiments and computer modeling allow investigators to see whether a reported accidental ignition could realistically have produced the kind of damage found at a scene.
Arrest affidavit: investigators say the story did not add up
An arrest affidavit obtained by WSVN states that Miami-Dade deputies and Fire Rescue responded to the apartment on February 14, 2024, after reports that two people had been burned. According to the affidavit, Stork first told investigators she accidentally started the fire while cleaning shoes with alcohol and lighting a cigarette. She later gave a different version of events, and detectives say the physical evidence inside the unit did not line up with either account.
Detectives turned to ATF for help and asked the agency to recreate the ignition scenario Stork described. According to the affidavit, testing showed that the fire could not have started the way she claimed. Stork was later taken into custody at the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Homicide Bureau. She is being held without bond on the murder and arson counts, while a separate crack-cocaine charge carries a $2,500 bond.
Charges and penalties under state law
Under Florida law, a killing that happens during certain felonies, including arson, is treated as first-degree murder. State arson laws lay out a range of felonies depending on the type of property involved and whether anyone was hurt. A conviction for first-degree murder can carry life in prison, and in capital cases it can be punished by death. The relevant language appears in Florida Statutes §782.04 and the arson provisions collected in Chapter 806.
What comes next
Prosecutors are expected to present the charges at a detention hearing before the case moves through the Miami-Dade court system. Public court calendars had not yet listed Stork’s next hearing at the time of reporting.
