Arson

PETERSBURG, Ind. (AP) - A southern Indiana man has been charged with murder and arson in the death of his mother and a fire at their home. State police said Wednesday that 36-year-old Andrew Satterfield was being held without bond in the Pike County Jail in Petersburg. He's charged in the death of his mother, 58-year-old Kathy Satterfield, and faces a Thursday court hearing. Police say prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life in prison without parole for the Petersburg man. Police say Kathy Satterfield was found dead Dec. 8 inside the family home by firefighters responding to a fire there.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend police are investigating a string of trash fires on the city's west side. Most happened in a pair of alleys in the 500 blocks of  Meade and Kaley Streets late Saturday night. They started one after another, damaging property, indicating it may have been arson. Most of the fires were put out quickly. WSBT spoke with a neighbor who said a police officer told him they were investigating several incidents of trash piles or plastic city trash containers that were set on fire.

Fire significantly damaged the roof of Rogers Park pavilion late Wednesday night. Now, the Goshen Fire Department hopes a reward will bring information about the fire that caused $40,000 damage, according to James Ramer, fire department assistant chief of operations, via a news release. Goshen firefighters arrived just before 10:30 p.m. and found the entire pavilion roof on fire. If you have information about the fire, call Goshen Fire Department investigators at 574-875-4315, Goshen Police at 574-533-8661 or the Arson Hot Line at 1-800-382-4628.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A second suspect in a deadly Indianapolis house explosion is seeking to move his trial outside the city because of publicity about the case. WISH-TV reports ( http://bit.ly/XsMSAh ) Mark Leonard filed a motion for a change of venue with the Marion County prosecutor's office on Tuesday. The motion cited publicity surrounding the Nov. 10 explosion in the Richmond Hill neighborhood that destroyed 33 houses and killed two people. Prosecutors object to the request and say it's possible for Leonard to get a fair trial in Indianapolis.

SOUTH BEND — A 25-year-old man was sentenced today to more than five decades behind bars for the brutal killing of his girlfriend. A jury convicted Julius Anderson of murder in December for the death of 29-year-old Dawn Brooks. Jurors acquitted Anderson of two counts of arson. The battered body of Brooks was found in her Kendall Street home in April 2009. She had been beaten, stabbed and left to die in a burning home, according to past reports. Calling the brutality of the offense "chilling," St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller sentenced Anderson to 55 years in prison at a hearing today.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A judge in Puerto Rico has found a woman guilty of stabbing her two toddlers to death. Prosecutors say Coraly Campos feuded with her partner and told him he would never see the two children again. She then beat them, stabbed them with a kitchen knife and set the house afire. Her 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son died in the Aug. 10 attack in the city of Trujillo Alto. Campos also tried to kill herself. The 21-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder, child abuse, arson, domestic abuse and violation of weapons laws on Friday.

Firefighters are investigating a Monday morning fire that they believe was intentionally started at a Goshen park. Just before 5 a.m. crews were dispatched to Oakridge Park where the roof of a pavilion was on fire. Investigators determined it was started intentionally. Similar fires happened at Roger's Park Pavilion in March and Pringle Park Pavilion in June. If you know anything please call Goshen police or fire. A reward up to $5,000 is possible.

Osolo Township firefighters spent the early hours of Monday morning knocking down a fire in an abandoned house. A nearby resident called 911 about 12:15 a.m., saying they saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the area of the 25000 block of Forrest Hill, off C.R. 9 in Elkhart. Firefighters first thought the location was a business, but it turned out to be a house that’s been abandoned “for some time,” Miller said. Fire damaged the roof. No firefighters were injured.

GLADE SPRING, Va. (AP) - An 8-year-old foster child has been charged with setting a fire that left a Washington County family of 10 homeless. Sheriff Fred Newman said the boy will be tried in juvenile and domestic relations court on an arson charge. Newman says the Dec. 27 fire began in a living room closet. Dan and Lana Colson lived in the home with seven adopted teenagers, the foster child and an adult friend. Lana Coalson tells the Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/xRc1ej)

BENTON HARBOR -- The Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety is investigating a van fire as a case of arson. The van belonged to the baseball coach for Benton Harbor Area Schools. It was parked outside his house on Pavone Street and inside were thousands of dollars worth of baseball equipment for his middle school baseball team. Danny Jennings awoke to banging on his door around 4 a.m. April 29.   When he went outside, he saw his van on fire.      Later that night, he got a phone call from someone admitting they lit the blaze and that he should consider it a warning.