Neighbor charged with setting fire that destroyed police officer's home

LOWER POTTSGROVE, Pa. (WPVI) -- The home of Limerick Police Detective Ernie Morris went up in flames, and investigators say his neighbor, Donna Krupp, intentionally set the house on fire.

And state police made the arrest relatively quickly because they say the crime was all caught on surveillance camera.

State Police Lt. Paul Gustaitis explains, "She takes one of them long extended grill lighters, lights the Christmas ornaments on fire, then flees the scene."

State police say Krupp, 52, believed Detective Morris was responsible for the ongoing incarceration of her son, who has a history of drug abuse and run-ins with the law.

This past November someone put caramel in the gas tank of Detective Morris' SUV. He suspected the Krupps.

So, when he left his Lower Pottsgrove home to go to Disney World for the Thanksgiving holiday he installed a surveillance system.

"Ernie's a hardworking cop. He's basically on duty 24/7. He's always going out there. There were some situations - he helped state police in an ongoing investigation and this is probably retaliation for that," Lt. Gustaitis said.

Neighbor Dan Yusko tells us, "They lost a pet, they had a cat they lost, which is horrible. All those personal belongings, everything's gone... everything's gone. It's sad, and this close to Christmas it's really sad."

Detectives Morris tells Action News the loss of his pet and everything he has, has been devastating for his family. But he knows others have lost more than him.

His two daughters, 11 and 14, are having a hard time with the alleged arson. But family, friends and the Pottsgrove School District have been rallying around the family.

"Who would have thought that someone living that close to you could do something that drastic and horrible, despicable... it really is despicable," Yusko said.

Donna Krupp is charged with arson, recklessly endangering another person, risking a catastrophe, and possession of an instrument of crime. She was arraigned Friday and is now being held on $1,000,000 bail.