Women accused of setting fire, with kids and grandparents inside, to kidnap child

Two women are accused of setting fire to a home in Gloucester County where grandparents and grandchildren were staying in a botched attempt to kidnap the children,

Lynette McGuire, 32 and her cousin, Denise Coyle, 34, both of Bensalem, Pa. have been charged with aggravated arson in the Thursday-night fire at a Washington Township home. They're also charged with the attempted kidnapping of McGuire’s 3-year-old daughter from the home, where the girl and three of her siblings were in the custody of their grandparents.

It was not immediately clear from information provided by the Gloucester County prosecutor's office whether the children's grandparents are also McGuire’s parents, and whether the other siblings are her children.

McGuire and Coyle were apprehended by Washington Township police at Route 42 and Fries Mill Road about a mile from the Lafayette Court.home of the grandparents, a short time after fleeing from the home, which had extensive damage, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said.

The grandparents and their grandchildren escaped the home without injury, the prosecutor's office said. The Gloucester County chapter of the America Red Cross was involved in locating other housing for them, it said.

No firefighters were injured in suppressing the fire, which is under investigation by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, authorities said. The blaze is believed to have started in the home's garage.

Arson investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were to examine the property Friday, the prosecutor's office said.

“If not for the timely response of the Washington Township Police Department and the Washington Township Fire Department, this incident may have ended quite differently,” said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton. “My thanks to all the first responders, along with the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s Office, the ATF and GCPO Arson and Crime Scene units for their assistance.”

McGuire and Coyle are being held in default of $100,000 bail each. Additional charges are pending.