US EditionNeighbor Who Claimed to Try to Save Woman From Deadly House Fire Now Charged with Her Murder
William Ahle faces first-degree murder, felony murder, burglary, and aggravated arson charges after a fire killed 82-year-old neighbor Virginia Cranwell, Union County officials said.
- On Wednesday, authorities arrested William Ahle, 71, of Fanwood, charging him with murder after a nearly five-month investigation into a July fire that officials said was intentionally set, resulting in Virginia Cranwell’s death.
- At about 1:37 a.m., emergency crews responded to a 911 call at a Kempshall Terrace/Kempshall Road home, finding Virginia Cranwell, 82, trapped in a second-floor bedroom and controlling the fire within 20 minutes.
- Local reports and neighbors said William Ahle, who entered the burning house to rescue Virginia Cranwell, was treated at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Burn Center, Livingston, after sustaining burns, Matthew Ahle said, 'He just looked, saw the flames, went in.'
- Ahle is currently held at Middlesex County Jail pending his next court appearance; officials have not disclosed a motive and court records were not immediately available.
- The investigation, led by the Union County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force and Special Prosecutions/Arson Unit, involved multiple local and federal agencies, and neighbors who knew Ahle for more than 30 years expressed shock at the arrest.
13 Articles
13 Articles
NJ Man Once Hailed as Hero Charged With Murder
A July house fire in New Jersey that initially produced a neighborhood hero has now led to a murder charge against him. Prosecutors in Union County say 70-year-old William Ahle of Fanwood, a New York City suburb, is accused of killing his 82-year-old neighbor, Virginia Cranwell, whose body was found...
Man Once Hailed As Hero for Trying to Rescue Neighbor from Burning Home Now Charged in Her Murder
“I gave him a big hug and everything,” the victim's daughter said of William Ahle after he claimed he tried to rescue her motherNews ABC7NY scene of deadly house fireNEED TO KNOWWilliam Ahle was praised as a hero when he tried to save his longtime neighbor Virginia Cranwell during a house fireAhle, 70, is now being accused of murdering Cranwell. She was 82"He originally helped her. He tried to save her. So it doesn't make any sense, I just don't…
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