A woman from Waterford Township, Jonna Rutterow, was charged with second degree aggravated arson on Monday.
Rutterow was charged after allegedly starting a fire in the house she lives in with her boyfriend on Old White Horse Pike. The police believe that lighter fluid was used as the accelerant for the fire. By the time they received the call and arrived at the house, the flames were already rising through the roof. Rutterow’s boyfriend was found unharmed at the scene as the police searched for Rutterow who eventually emerged from the woods she had been hiding in. Neighbors claim the couple had a domestic dispute earlier that day.
Second degree aggravated arson requires that the defendant acted with purpose or knowledge that they were placing someone in danger of death or bodily injury or that they acted with the purpose to destroy a building. If convicted of this crime, Rutterow could spend 5 to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison. Also, since arson is included under the “No Early Release Act,” she will have to serve 85 percent of that sentence before parole eligibility.
For more information on this case, please access the nj.com article entitled “Woman charged in Waterford arson following alleged domestic dispute.”
