All charges against three people arrested for allegedly starting a fire in 2015 in a Ridgway home for the insurance money were bound to Elk County Court on Friday.
Cody J. Miller, 21, and his parents, John P. Miller, 49, and Renee L. Groeger, 45, all of 37 E. Cardott St., Ridgway, appeared for a preliminary hearing Friday before District Judge James Martin in Johnsonburg, court records indicate.
All three remain incarcerated in Elk County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on charges, including arson and insurance fraud.
Criminal complaints describe the allegations that led to the arrest of Cody and John Miller and Groeger.
According to the complaint, Groeger called 911 at 11:08 p.m. Nov. 16, 2015, to report a fire at 2130 Montmorenci Road. At 12:53 a.m. Nov. 17, 2015, a state police fire marshal was called in to help the Ridgway Fire Department investigate the cause of the blaze.
The fire marshal determined the fire originated on a ceramic cooktop of an electric range in the kitchen. An empty lacquer thinner can was near the range, and a forensic analysis showed that both the left front and left rear heating elements had been on at the time of the fire, court records stated.
As part of the investigation, the fire was recreated in a laboratory.
“Fire testing demonstrated simply activating the heating elements on the range was insufficient to ignite the ceiling tile and cause a fire to spread from the cooktop surface,” the complaint stated. “It was necessary to add additional fuel” — such as “combustible materials or an ignitable liquid” to cause the blaze to spread the way it had.
The fire was ruled arson, court records stated.
Groeger was interviewed at the scene of the fire. Court records indicate she told investigators that Cody Miller owned the house and that she did not know if he had insurance. According to Groeger, she and John Miller came to work on the house at 11:30 a.m., but they only stayed 30-45 minutes because she did not feel well.
Further, Groeger allegedly said during the interview, which was at about 3 a.m. Nov. 17, 2015, that Cody Miller was not yet told about the fire, as he was staying with a friend in Byrnedale and did not have cell service.
John Miller was also interviewed at the scene. He agreed that he and Groeger had been working at the house earlier in the day, and stated they did not return to the home until the time they found the fire, according to court records. He told investigators that he opened the back door to let the dog out and saw smoke.
Court records stated that on Nov. 18, 2015, police interviewed Cody Miller, who said he did not know about the fire until about 5 a.m. Nov. 17, 2015, because he was staying with James Stafford in Byrnedale.
However, Stafford allegedly told police he had been home in bed the night of the fire, when he got a call from Cody Miller, who informed him about the fire and asked that Stafford tell police that Miller was with him when it started, court records indicated.
The criminal complaint described what investigators found when they looked up phone records for Groeger and John and Cody Miller, too.
Cell phone records maintained by AT&T for the three indicated that Cody Miller exchanged 102 text messages and 10 phone calls with his parents between the time the fire was reported and 5 a.m., when they told officials he learn about the fire, according to court records. Additionally, forensic analysis of global positioning data allegedly showed that Cody Miller’s phone being in Byrnedale “in the moments after the 911 call reporting the fire is a ‘network impossibility.’”
The criminal complaint provided an analysis of how the fire burned and what the timeline involved, including this conclusion: “All data collected concerning the cause of the fire, necessary fuel load, fire spread, heat transfer and the timeline necessary indicates the fire was ignited less than 16 minutes before the 911 call was made. The timeline demonstrates Renee Lynn Groeger and John P. Miller were at the property when the fire was ignited.”
Investigators believe the motive of the arson was to collect insurance money.
Court records indicated the home and contents were insured for a minimum of $351,750, according to an Erie Insurance representative.
Police interviewed an insurance company employee in St. Marys, who said Groeger called her in September 2015 about setting up a policy on the house as soon as possible, while Cody Miller was in the background, court records stated.
The policy was made effective Sept. 24, 2015. On Nov. 10, 2015, the employee contacted the family to talk about concerns the company had after a recent inspection of the house; she informed the family that if the company found they had misrepresented anything about the house, the policy would be cancelled. Also, a letter was sent to Cody Miller with a list of repairs that were to be completed, or the policey would be cancelled.
The fire occurred Nov. 16, 2015.
Investigators looked up credit reports for the three and found 27 accounts listed as “placed for collection” on John Miller’s report and 20 accounts listed as “placed for collection” on Groeger’s report; Cody Miller did not have any credit history, according to court records.
