TROY, N.Y. (AP) -- A man was charged with second-degree murder and arson Tuesday, accused of killing his aunt and setting their apartment on fire.
Philip Pitcher Jr., 21, was arrested in the death of 43-year-old Lisa Pitcher, who was found after firefighters put out the 7:30 a.m. blaze in their second-floor apartment.
``It only took our guys about 15 minutes to get it under control, and then we found her,'' Troy Fire Chief Tom Garrett. ``We knew we had a suspicious fire almost immediately, because things weren't adding up from the get-go.''
Neighbors said the victim's daughter was at school when the fire broke out. Several adjoining apartments sustained smoke and water damage.
Authorities believe Pitcher stabbed his aunt in the neck and chest with a pair of scissors before attempting to suffocate her. He then allegedly turned on the apartment's gas stove and set a sheet on fire in the living room.
The case will be sent to the Rensselaer County grand jury. Pitcher was jailed without bail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Friday.
Pitcher was in trouble with the law in 1997, accused of sabotaging a school fire escape that caused a principal to fall and be paralyzed. The charges were eventually dismissed, but Pitcher was sent to a juvenile facility.
