Dorothee Burkhart, the mother of a man suspected of setting dozens of fires in Los Angeles over the New Year weekend, appeared in court Friday for an extradition hearing.
The 53-year-old woman faces possible deportation to her native Germany where she's been charged with fraud unrelated to the arson attacks.
During the hearing, the woman claimed she was beaten by jail staff, and refused a public defender.
The hearing was ultimately postponed pending the appointment of a defense attorney.
Her son, Harry Burkhart, was arrested on January 2 on suspicion of arson following a string of 53 fires.
The arson attacks, mostly targeting parked cars as well as several homes, left Los Angeles residents on edge and caused an estimated 3 million dollars of damage.
Germany issued a warrant for Dorothee Burkhart's arrest in 2007.
She is accused of subletting apartments that she didn't own, failing to pay rent and security deposits for other properties, and defrauding a cosmetic surgeon over a breast augmentation surgery she never paid for.
Travis Brecher, Reuters
