MPLS Woman Found Guilty Of Burning Down Camper With Man Trapped Inside

CASS LAKE, MN — A 35-year-old Minneapolis woman was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after she was found guilty of burning down a camper, killing the man trapped inside.

Cora Lee Quaderer was convicted a day earlier of first-degree murder in the Aug. 30, 2022 death of Roy Lee Lovelace, 30. She entered into a Norgaard plea on Monday, which means she claims to not remember the details of the crime but accepts that the state's evidence would be sufficient for a potential jury to find her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

On Aug. 30, 2022, at about 7 p.m., law enforcement and fire crews responded to a report of a residential fire, with reports that a person was inside and had died.

At the scene, police found a camper fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters from Cass Lake began extinguishing the flames and attempting to remove the steel roof and siding to get inside.

Two witnesses at the scene said they saw Cora Lee Quaderer standing outside of the camper arguing with Roy Lee Lovelace, who was inside the camper, according to investigators.

One of the witnesses "could distinctly hear Quaderer yelling at Lovelace that he needed to let her into the camper or that she would destroy parts or all of the structure," the criminal complaint states.

Witnesses reported smelling a strong odor of gasoline near the front of the camper and watched Quaderer toss the burning piece of cloth at the vehicle, investigators said.

As the camper erupted in flames, Quaderer was seen fleeing the area, according to authorities. Lovelace was heard screaming that he could not get out of the camper, the criminal complaint states.

The witnesses then tried to remove an air conditioning unit from a window in the camper so Lovelace could get out, but had to retreat as flames grew too quickly, authorities said.

Investigators were able to eventually extinguish the fire and locate human remains, presumably Roy Lovelace, inside the burned camper. The deceased body was transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Anoka County for an autopsy. Sheriff's investigators obtained a search warrant for the cell phone of Cora Quaderer who had fled the area after committing the crime.

On the evening of Aug. 31, 2022, Quaderer was found and arrested in Brooklyn Center, police said.

Quaderer's prior criminal history includes several felony drug convictions and misdemeanor theft and trespass convictions.