Lit by Love: Serial Arson in Accomack County, Virginia

Episode 105

In rural Accomack County, structure fires are rare—maybe a handful a year across an entire district. So when six fires break out in less than 30 hours, investigators know immediately: this isn’t coincidence. It’s arson.

What follows is one of the most baffling serial arson cases to ever hit Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Over five months, 87 fires tear through a tight-knit community of just 33,000 people—stretching volunteer fire departments to their limits and leaving investigators with little more than ash to work with.

But what makes this case truly unsettling isn’t just the scale—it’s the motive.

There’s no money. No revenge. No attempt to cover up another crime. The fires target abandoned buildings, offering no clear benefit to the person setting them. And the suspects? They don’t fit the profile. They’re not outsiders. Not isolated. Not young thrill-seekers.

They’re a couple.

In this episode, we break down how a quiet rural county became the center of a serial arson spree, what investigators look for when fire scene evidence is all but destroyed, and why cases driven by psychological motives—like pyromania—are some of the hardest to solve.

Because when there’s no clear reason… there’s often no clear path to a suspect.

And when someone sets six fires in 30 hours—

they’re not finished.

Buy Monica Hesse's amazing book on this case: American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land here: https://a.co/d/0609yUqG

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:
Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Jenny Mercer and Laura Pisciotta, for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

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SOURCES:

• Hesse, Monica. American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land. Liveright Publishing, 2017.
• Johnson, R. Scott, M.D., J.D., LL.M., and Elisabeth Netherton, M.D. “Fire Setting and the Impulse-Control Disorder of Pyromania.” American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal, Vol. 11, No. 7, April 2017.
  https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2016.110707
• Eastern Shore of Virginia 9-1-1 Commission. 2022 Annual Report.
• “Burning Down Accomack – 10 Years Later.” WBOC Delmarva’s News Leader.
  https://www.wboc.com/news/watch-burning-down-accomack---10-years-later/video_0aa43587-4fdc-5678-96d2-ce9eb85d62e2.html
• “Second Accomack Arsonist Tonya Bundick’s Prison Sentence Ends.” Curtis, Sean. WBOC Delmarva’s News Leader, September 24, 2025.
  https://www.wboc.com/news/second-accomack-arsonist-tonya-bundick-s-prison-sentence-ends/article_62e90020-318e-475a-9ae9-a3e8d90557c6.html
• “Accomack Arsonist Charles Smith to Be Released from Prison Tuesday.” WBOC Delmarva’s News Leader, October 31, 2023.
  https://www.wboc.com/news/accomack-arsonist-charles-smith-to-be-released-from-prison-tuesday/article_3f047cee-7825-11ee-8c0b-b3dda31728b0.html
• Cohen, Stefanie. “How a Man’s Sexual Performance Led to a Massive Arson Spree.” New York Post, August 5, 2017.
  https://nypost.com/2017/08/05/how-a-mans-sexual-performance-led-to-a-massive-arson-spree/
• Vaughn, Carol. “Serial Arsonist Told Cops Fires an Act of Love.” The Salisbury Daily Times, via Delaware Online.
  https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/crime/1/01/01/serial-arsonist-told-cops-fires-an-act-of-love/3476357/
• “The Arsonist Was Like a Ghost.” Longreads, August 2, 2017.
  https://longreads.com/2017/08/02/the-arsonist-was-like-a-ghost/
• “Were There Any Copycats During the Eastern Shore Arson Spree?” WTVR News 3, April 11, 2014.
  https://www.wtkr.com/2014/04/11/were-there-any-copycats-during-eastern-shore-arson-spree

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Delmarva Public Media (Don Rush)

• “Charles Smith Gets 15 Years for Accomack County Fires.” April 24, 2015.
• “Bundick Enters Alford Plea to Virginia Eastern Shore Fires.” April 21, 2015.
• “Bundick Faces Third Trial for Accomack County Fires.” December 4, 2014.
• “Tonya Bundick Gets Over 10 Years in Prison for Arson.” September 4, 2014.
• “Bundick to Be Sentenced in Eastern Shore Arson Spree.” September 4, 2014.
• “No New Court-Appointed Attorney for Tonya Bundick.” August 22, 2014.
• “Tonya Bundick Convicted of Arson in Second Trial.” July 16, 2014.
• “Bundick Trial Begins, Has New Relationship.” July 15, 2014.
• “Arson Trial for Bundick Begins Today.” July 14, 2014.
• “Other Fires Could Be Mentioned in Bundick Arson Trial.” June 17, 2014.
• “Bundick Could Get 62 Separate Arson Trials.” April 29, 2014.
• “Arson Trial for Tonya Bundick Will Be Moved to Virginia Beach.” April 11, 2014.
• “Tonya Bundick Trial Delayed.” February 21, 2014.
• “Tonya Bundick Pleads Guilty in Accomack Arson Trial.” January 14, 2014.
• “Bundick’s Fiancé Testifies at Arson Trial.” January 14, 2014.
• “New Details from Indictment in Accomack County Arsons.” December 5, 2013.