Neighbor gets 10-20 years for arson that destroyed cop's home

LOWER POTTSGROVE, Pa. -- A Montgomery County woman who burned down her neighbor's house will spend between 10 and 20 years behind bars.

Prosecutors say Donna Krupp set fire to the Lower Pottsgrove home of Limerick Police Detective Ernie Morris.

Krupp was found guilty of arson last year, and she learned her sentence on Thursday.

State police made the arrest relatively quickly after Det. Morris' home went up in flames over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2014. That's 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 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.

In the days prior to the fire, 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.