Husband, wife indicted for insurance fraud after setting home on fire: Prosecutor
BATAVIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - A husband and wife face 42 years in jail after investigators say they increased their insurance policy before setting fire to their home.
Asa Dawson, 35, and Kaitlyn Dawson, 32, of Clermont County, were indicted and arraigned Friday for the following charges, according to Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Tekulve:
- Aggravated arson
- Arson
- Tampering with evidence
- Insurance fraud
- Telecommunication fraud
Around 9 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2022, the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office says a witness called 911 to report a home was on fire in the 2300 block of Vista Lake Drive in Batavia Township.
Firefighters, deputies, and EMS were on scene within six minutes, but the home was already fully engulfed, the sheriff’s office explained.
The home was a complete loss.
“This couple endangered the lives of brave members of the firefighting community as well as their elderly neighbors, all to defraud their insurance company,” Prosecutor Tekulve said Friday. “We intend to fully prosecute this despicable act.”
The Clermont County Fire Investigation Team concluded the fire was suspicious and contacted the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Unit.
Detectives then called the State Fire Marshal’s Office to launch an investigation.
While investigating, a neighbor’s home surveillance system captured Asa Dawson arriving at the Vista Lake Drive home at 8:20 p.m. the night of the fire, according to the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.
Asa Dawson left the home “a short time later,” the sheriff’s office added.
The home became engulfed in flames after he left, the sheriff’s office explained.
“The rapid progression of the fire throughout the home was suspicious to investigators and consistent with the use of accelerants,” the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office wrote.
The prosecutor said a neighboring home was also damaged by the fire.
Evidence confirmed the theory that accelerants were used.
Asa Dawson was interviewed, but he denied going inside the home before the fire started, the sheriff’s office said.
The 35-year-old later changed his story, according to the sheriff’s office.
Kaitlyn Dawson was out of state when the Sept. 20 fire happened, the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office explained.
About a month before the fire, the sheriff’s office said the husband and wife increased their insurance policy.
It was also discovered that the Vista Lake Drive home had few “personal contents with no evidence of everyday household items,” according to the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.
Judge Anthony Brock set bond for Asa Dawson and Kaitlyn Dawson at $50,000 O/R on the condition that they surrender their passports and report to probation, the prosecutor added.
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