NJ woman charged with attempted murder for fire at two-family home, cops say

🔴 A Raritan Township woman is charged with attempted murder

🔴 She's accused of starting a fire at a home occupied by two families

🔴 Two people trapped on the roof were rescued

RARITAN TOWNSHIP — A Hunterdon County woman is charged with first-degree attempted murder for a fire that could have killed members of two families, according to prosecutors.

Laura Duran, 47, of Raritan Township is also charged with two counts of second-degree aggravated arson, third-degree arson, and third-degree criminal mischief.

Duran was arrested on Friday.

A fire broke out at a multi-family home on the 100 block of River Road on Wednesday night around 10:45 p.m., according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office.

Police got to the home and saw two people on the roof yelling for help, according to police. The officers used their patrol car to help them down. Two other people were able to escape on their own.

After the fire was put out, investigators began looking into the cause of the blaze.

They found that the fire had been started intentionally.

Duran, who lived at the home on the second floor, was accused of starting the fire.

"Aggravated arson is more than a crime against property — it is a crime against the person and, in this case, a personal invasion that endangered the lives, safety, and dignity of the victims in their own home," Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée Robeson said.

Duran was being held at Warren County jail pending a court hearing on Saturday.

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