RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Raleigh Police said Tuesday that a woman was arrested and charged in connection with a fire that destroyed a local business a week ago.
Eva Marie Torrellas, 59, was charged Tuesday afternoon with felony burning of an unoccupied commercial structure in the incident at the House of Art at 306 Hargett St. across from Moore Square.
On Wednesday, she went before a Wake County judge for the first time in connection with the fire.
Prosecutors claimed Torrellas burned down the beloved live music venue and bar, and that she has a history of this kind of behavior.
Security video from the House of Art appeared to show a woman approaching the venue around the time that fire began last week, although investigators have not positively identified the woman in that video as Torrellas.
Torrellas appeared virtually in court on Wednesday afternoon but it was an unusual scene.
She didn't appear to be wearing clothing when she walked into the room that was being broadcast from the jail, covering herself instead with some sort of black towel or cloth.
Torrellas also appeared erratic during the appearance, seeming confused at one point about the nature of the court appearance and asking the judge whether she was free to go home.
She was assigned a court-appointed defense attorney and her bond was set at $250,000.
During the proceedings, the prosecutor's office alleged that Torrellas had already been speaking with Raleigh Police about what happened.
ABC11 also learned that Torellas faced similar charges of arson and intentionally damaging property in New York state in 2021. Prosecutors said those charges were pled down.
The fire broke out around 3 a.m. on Jan. 7. More than 30 firefighters responded to the blaze, according to the Raleigh Fire Department.
Coincidentally, a benefit concert to help rebuild the House of Art took place Tuesday night at Pour House Music Hall.
Word of the arrest came just hours before the concert was held to help raise money for the venue - an effort to get the beloved venue back on its feet.
"House of Art is the foundation, but the community came together to show that, 'hey, we can help rebuild the House of Art. Hey, this is not going to stop us right here,'" said Xavier Skinner, one of the curators of the concert and a resident DJ at House of Art.
Skinner and his fellow DJ Joshua Williams - perhaps better known by their DJ names "Professor X" and "Jmar" - described what the space meant to locals before Tuesday's concert.
"Just the overall atmosphere. The bartenders, our bartenders, they're like family. The people that work the door they're like family. Everybody just gives like a very comforting feeling that you can come here and there'll be no issues," said Williams.
Meantime, Sazi Sessoms - who ran the venue before the fire - described the whirlwind week culminating in Torellas' arrest.
"Finding out the news was super devastating to us. But honestly, we've been receiving an outpouring of love from our community. So that's been an amazing thing within itself," said Sessoms.
Skinner called the arrest a step toward justice.
"It's progress," he said. "That's the first step. You know, we've got progress. At least we know that it's been made. You know, it's the first step. Now let's get justice."
A second benefit event was planned to help rebuild the House of Art. It's scheduled for 10 p.m. Friday.