15 Year Old Girl Charged With Murder In New York

A devastating house fire last week that took the life of a 58-year-old man was later discovered to be intentionally set aflame.

According to New York State Police, the house fire occurred just before 2 PM on Friday, June 7th in the Town of Livingston. The house was located on Route 9, where troopers arrived at the scenes shortly after receiving the call about the fire.

Upon arrival, officers discovered that there were people trapped inside the residence. The fire was extinguished in only 15 minutes, according to WNYT-TV. Sadly, there was one person who did not survive the fire.

A news release from New York State confirmed that Edmund W. Metz, a 58-year-old man from Livingston, was pronounced dead at the scene.

While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, police have reason to believe that it was a 15-year-old girl who set the fire on purpose, according to Times Union. She has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree arson, and she was arrested within 30 minutes of the fire being extinguished.

Many are suspecting what may have gone down that day that led to the fire, but police are not able to add any additional comments at this time as the investigation continues.

Edmund Metz’s niece, Liz, commented on Facebook about what kind of person he was and the relationship he had with the teenage girl who has been charged.

Liz wrote, “He’s my uncle!! She was loved by the entire family!!”

“Respectfully, the family shouldn’t have to see assumptions being made and his character doubted. He was a good man!” she wrote on Facebook.

Another report claims that the 15-year-old girl charged with murder is the daughter of the victim.

The 15-year-old was arraigned before Honorable Judge Howard of the Columbia County Court, who sent her to Columbia County Jail.

8 New York Counties Have Most Violent Young Criminals

Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young

These 7 Prisons Are The Most Violent In New York State

New York released a report with the most recent number of violent assaults on inmates in state prisons. There were 134 inmate deaths noted in the report, although it doesn't break down the prisons where each death occurred or who caused them. Here's a look at some of the general violent incidents reported for 2020, which is the most recent data reported by the state. Compared to 10 years ago, inmate assaults have almost doubled. In 2011 there were 666 and in 2020 there were 1,205 reported. These numbers do not include inmate assaults on staff members. Overall, the number of unusual incidents includes things like assaults, deaths, accidents, sexual misconduct, and disruptive behavior. According to the state,

"The number of unusual incidents has increased 132% from 5,980 in 2011 to 13,870 in 2020. These higher incident numbers were largely due to increases in assaults on incarcerated individuals (+81%), assaults on staff (+86%), contraband (+130%), disruptive behavior (+372%), and staff use of weapons (+1,035%)."

In 2020, 1,836 weapons used to cut or stab, including ice picks, razor blades, can lids and shanks were discovered in state prisons around New York.

Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young