Woman charged with setting fire to own house with children inside
NEWARK - A Newark woman has been accused of setting fire to her own home multiple times — at least once with children inside — and trying to frame her estranged husband for the crimes.
The plan involved not only fire, but using multiple cell phones to send text messages to implicate him in the crime.
Amy M. Wilson, 39, is facing one charge of aggravated arson, a first-degree felony, and more charges are likely when a grand jury considers the case in the coming weeks.
According to court records, Wilson is suspected of setting fire to her home on North 31st Street on Feb. 12 in a downstairs bathroom. Wilson and her three children became trapped on the upper floor of the home and had to be rescued by police before fire crews arrived on the scene. All four were treated at Licking Memorial Hospital for smoke inhalation.
The Feb. 12 fire was the third suspicious fire to be set at the home in early February. Police initially had focused the investigation on Wilson's estranged husband, court records said, because of text messages and reports that reportedly directed blame towards him.
Assistant Licking County Prosecutor Paula Sawyers said Wilson admitted to police during a Wednesday interview that she had falsified text messages from her former husband to try to frame him for the crimes.
Wilson reportedly went to the length of purchasing disposable phones to send herself text messages, which she then claimed were from her former husband, Sawyers said.
The content of those text messages led to misdemeanor charges being filed against the husband. The case still is pending, but Sawyers said detectives had been in contact with the law director's office, which is prosecuting the case, to decide what course of action to take with the case.
It took police several months to track the cell phones and determine who had purchased them.
Wilson appeared Thursday afternoon in Licking County Common Pleas Court for a bond hearing. Magistrate Mattie Klein set Wilson's bond at $100,000.
A grand jury will consider the case in the coming weeks for additional charges, including additional counts of aggravated arson and arson, and tampering with records, Sawyers said.
Wilson could face child endangering charges as well, but they might only be misdemeanors. Sawyers said those charges will depend on the level of physical harm the children suffered from the smoke inhalation. Prosecutors will look at medical records to determine how to proceed.