Doctor accused of making antisemitic threat, setting fire to a home in Montgomery County
Dr. Amy Cohen of Narberth is facing a host of charges including attempted murder, arson, and ethnic intimidation.
LOWER MERION TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A Montgomery County, Pennsylvania doctor is accused of making an antisemitic threat and setting fire to a home connected to her ex-boyfriend.
Dr. Amy Cohen, a 35-year-old resident of Forrest Avenue in Narberth, is facing a host of charges, including attempted murder, arson, and ethnic intimidation.
Lower Merion Township police say the investigation began on Nov. 24 when threatening flyers were found at a home in the Merion section of the township.
The home allegedly belongs to the grandmother of Cohen's ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend.
"Police believe this crime came as a result of Cohen's ex-boyfriend leaving her for another woman," said Lieutenant Jim Baitinger. "The house she allegedly burned belonged to the new girlfriend's 99-year-old grandmother."
Investigators say that the flyer had antisemitic language and made specific threats against the victim's granddaughters.
The typed letter also featured pictures of the granddaughters with X's over their eyes, police say.
Just a few days before this, officers say another typed letter was also sent to the new girlfriend's father. It demanded they move out of Pennsylvania or else they would be hurt.
Similar items were also sent to the mother.
"The flyers in question were accusing various family members, specifically the granddaughters, of Islamophobia, Zionist actions, and things that were sort of encouraging a call to action," said Detective Mike Keenan with Lower Merion police.
On Nov. 30, police responded to the same home after a security camera, installed after the flyer was found, caught a woman setting the front door on fire around 1:30 a.m. - while the victim was asleep inside.
The suspect tried to accelerate the fire by spraying it with a flammable liquid, police say, but the flames ultimately burned out without extending beyond the front porch.
The investigation led investigators to Cohen, police say, and she was arrested the next day.
Cohen was arraigned on Saturday and is being held on $5 million cash bail.
