JENKS TWP., Pa. (EYT) – A warrant has been issued for a Forest County woman accused of intentionally setting fire to a trailer causing the deaths of several dogs trapped inside.
Court documents indicate that Punxsutawney-based State Police filed the following criminal charges against 40-year-old Lori Ann Earnheardt of Marienville:
- Arson-Danger Of Death Or Bodily Injury, Felony 1
- Arson-Inhabited Building Or Structure, Felony 1
- Arson Endangering Property-Reckless Endangerment of Inhabited Buildings, Felony 2
- Aggravated Cruelty to Animals – Causing Serious Bodily Injury or Death, Felony 3 (five counts)
- Reckless Burning or Exploding – places property having value that exceeds $5000 or automobile, place, Felony 3
- Criminal Mischief/Damage Property Intent, Reckless, Or Negligent, Felony 3
- Cruelty to Animals, Misdemeanor 2 (five counts)
- Neglect of Animals – Vet Care, Misdemeanor 3
- Dangerous Burning, Summary
According to a criminal complaint filed by Tpr. Kathleen Watters, on July 25, 2018, Marienville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Greg Geyer requested an investigation into the origin and cause of a fire that damaged a residential trailer located along Aqua Lane in Jenks Township, Forest County.
Clarion County 9-1-1 said the call came in at 7:49 a.m.
Marienville Volunteer Fire Company, Farmington Township Volunteer Fire Company, Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department, Sigel Volunteer Fire Department, and Clarion Hospital Ambulance were dispatched.
The fire, which was confined to the kitchen area of the trailer, was extinguished and the scene was cleared shortly after 9:00 a.m. No injuries were reported.
Approximately $18,000.00 in damage was reported.
Tpr. Watters, who functions as a Deputy Fire Marshal for the Pennsylvania State Police Troop C coverage area, investigated and discovered the trailer was being rented to Lori Earnheardt.
According to the complaint, Tpr. Watters interviewed Earnheardt who stated that she was the only one home at the time of the fire and was asleep in her bedroom when she woke up to the smell of smoke and the whimpering of her dogs. Earnheardt said she felt her bedroom door, which was closed, and found it to be warm. She opened the door slowly and saw heavy smoke in the living room. She said that she called for her dogs, but they “didn’t respond.”
Earnheardt said that she was unable to exit through the door because of the smoke, so she climbed out of the window of her bedroom and called 9-1-1. She went on to say that she was being evicted from the residence that same day. Earnheardt reported that she had worked the previous night and got home around 11:30 p.m. She said that after she got home, she took the dogs out and fed them and then cooked herself eggs on a single burner hotplate in the kitchen before going to bed.
During an examination of the scene, Tpr. Watters determined that the fire originated in the kitchen. A circular hole, approximately eight inches in diameter, burned completely through the counter to the left of the sink. On the counter to the right of the sink, there was a similar circular burn pattern which had only damaged the surface of the counter.
The complaint notes the pattern was also similar to a burn pattern created during a test burn in which a single burner hotplate was turned on and placed upside down (coil side down) on a counter.
According to the complaint, Tpr. Watters noted that she found no evidence of eggs being cooked. No skillet. No plate. No silverware in the sink.
When questioned, Earnhardt said she threw the skillet away after using it. In a later interview, Earnhardt said she was planning to cook eggs and turned the hot plate on, but then realized she didn’t have a skillet.
Tpr. Watters found five dead mixed breed dogs inside the residence. Four of the dogs had no visible injuries while one appeared to have trauma to the head. According to the complaint, when questioned about this, Earnheardt said the dog had been attacked by one of the other dogs “a couple of days earlier” and died in the following days.
The owner of the trailer confirmed that 3 additional dogs were later found dead inside another room in the home.
During the investigation, Tpr. Watters also found a white plastic container under fire debris on the floor near the kitchen sink. Forensic testing revealed the presence of a medium petroleum distillate in the container.
“It is my opinion, within a reasonable degree of investigative certainty, that the fire originated with the electric hotplate on the counter to the left of the sink in the kitchen of the residence by an intentional act, constituting arson,” said Tpr. Watters in the complaint.
Tpr. Watters noted the evidence at the scene clearly indicated the fire originated with the hotplate on the counter to the left of the sink, as well as a second, previous point of origin on the counter to the right of the skink, with the fire pattern around the area consistent with a pattern created by intentionally placing an activated hotplate upside down on a counter.
Tpr. Watters went on to note that there are other potential indicators of an intentional fire not directly related to combustion: the fact that most of the contents of the home had been removed prior to the fire, including almost all of Earnheardt’s personal items, the lack of consistency between Earnheardt’s statements and the physical evidence, and the presence of the petroleum distillate.
Charges were filed in Magisterial District Judge Daniel L. Miller’s office in Forest County on Tuesday, October 2.
Police confirmed that Watters had not been taken into custody as of late Thursday afternoon, and a warrant for her arrest remains active.
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