BERNARDSVILLE — A Bernardsville woman is charged with trying to set her condominium on fire, authorities said today. Kathleen Caruso, 41, of Fox Hollow Trail, is charged with third-degree arson, and she is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail for the incident that occurred Sept. 1, said acting Somerset County Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco Jr. Today was her...
A map view of Fox Hollow Trail in Bernardsville, where a resident tried to set her home on fire, authorities said.BERNARDSVILLE — A Bernardsville woman is charged with trying to set her condominium on fire, authorities said today.
Kathleen Caruso, 41, of Fox Hollow Trail, is charged with third-degree arson, and she is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail for the incident that occurred Sept. 1, said acting Somerset County Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco Jr. Today was her first appearance before Superior Court Judge John Pursel in Somerville, where she appeared in khaki prison garb and handcuffs.
On Wednesday at about 11:29 a.m., Bernardsville police and the volunteer fire department received a 911-call regarding a fire at the unit, which is located in a five-unit, two-story building, DeMarco said. The prosecutor’s Arson Task Force and Bernardsville detectives responded, and a witness told authorities that Caruso had placed a blanket on top of a lit stove, DeMarco said.
Caruso failed to respond to repeated calls from the eyewitness and neighbors warning her to leave the residence that was filling with smoke. A concerned neighbor threw wooden log through a locked glass door in order to enter and remove Caruso for her own safety, DeMarco said.
The eyewitness and a neighbor removed the burning blanket from the stove by wrapping a pair of jeans around the cover and placing both items in the kitchen sink to extinguish them.
Authorities found the burnt blanket and jeans in the sink, DeMarco said.