Cheryl A. Satoris was convicted of setting a fire that burned a condominium in 2011.
An appellate panel has tossed out the sentence of a Gloucester County woman convicted of arson in 2013 and ordered a new trial.
The appeals court found that the conviction of Washington Township resident Cheryl A. Satoris, 55, was based on unreliable evidence that an accelerant was used to start the fire.
Satoris was convicted of third-degree arson for allegedly setting her condominium building on fire Jan. 6, 2011. The building, which contained eight units, suffered major damage. No one was injured in the blaze.
Judge Walter L. Marshall Jr. sentenced Satoris to a five-year probationary term and ordered her to pay more than $48,000 in restitution. The probationary term was based on her having served 981 days in jail while awaiting her trial.
A neighbor testified that on the day prior to the fire, Satoris asked him if he was part of the conspiracy among "the Commissioner, Illuminati and other people to kill her." She also asked him if he had renter's insurance and asked, "Do you know these units are going to burn down?," the neighbor testified.
While prosecutors argued that an accelerant was used to set the blaze, the defense contended that Satoris had lit several candles before going to bed and woke to find her apartment on fire.
In filing the appeal, the defense argued that the trial court should not have allowed unreliable scientific evidence regarding the question of whether an accelerant was used.
Appellate judges agreed on this point. Over the defendant's objection, the court allowed testimony that an accelerant detecting K-9 had provided "positive alerts" for an accelerant after sniffing several items removed from Satoris' apartment.
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Only one of those positives was confirmed through laboratory analysis, according to court documents. The testimony about the uncorroborated K-9 alerts should not have been admitted as evidence, the appellate judges found, and was an inadequate basis for expert testimony provided by an investigator with the Washington Township Fire Department.
The expert's reliance on uncorroborated K-9 alerts violated national fire investigation standards for determining cause and origin of fires, the appeals court wrote.
The problem was exacerbated by the investigator's reference to "hearsay statements" that uncorroborated K-9 alerts are more accurate than lab testing.
"The testimony was the only direct proof of an accelerant being used to start the fire," the appellate judges wrote. "Under those circumstance, we cannot conclude the error was harmless."
A brief filed by the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office in response to the appeal argued that both the prosecution and defense witnesses offered similar testimony about a dog's ability to detect accelerants.
In addition to the evidence issue, the state conceded that Satoris' sentence was illegal, according to the appellate ruling, resulting in the court vacating the sentence. The problem there had to do with the conditions set for the probationary term.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.