A Main Line doctor is accused of intentionally starting a fire outside the home of the grandmother of her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend.
Dr. Amy Cohen, 35, of Narberth, is charged with criminal attempted-murder, arson, aggravated arson, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, ethnic intimidation, stalking and other related offenses.
The investigation began on Nov. 24 when a threatening flyer was left at an elderly woman’s home in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. Police said the flyer included antisemitic language and made specific threats against the elderly homeowner’s granddaughters who did not live at the house. Investigators later learned similar flyers were discovered at the homes of the woman’s other family members in Montgomery County and Philadelphia.
On Nov. 30, Lower Merion Police arrived at the elderly woman’s home to meet with family members who had installed cameras on the property. The footage showed a woman intentionally setting a fire at the front door of the home at 1:30 a.m. that morning while the elderly woman slept inside. The woman repeatedly tried to accelerate the fire by spraying flammable liquid into the flames, investigators said. The fire later burned out without extending beyond the porch of the home.
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The Lower Merion Fire Department, Norristown Fire Department K-9, Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI joined the investigation. Investigators later determined the suspect was previously in a relationship with the boyfriend of one of the victim’s granddaughters. They then identified Dr. Amy Cohen as the suspect.
Cohen was arrested on Dec. 1. She was arraigned on Dec. 2 and remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5 million cash bail.
NBC10 reached out to Cohen’s attorney for comment. We have not yet heard back from him.
