Dog Killed as a Result of Arson in Middlesex County, Prosecutor Says

MILLTOWN, NJ — A 50-year-old Middlesex County woman was arrested and charged with setting fire to her own home early Tuesday morning. She set the fire before 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, and the blaze resulted in the death of a dog, prosecutors said.

Karen Piciullo, a Milltown resident, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated arson and criminal mischief.

The fire broke out at 5:24 a.m. Tuesday at her home in the unit block of Pershing Avenue in Milltown, and investigators determined Piciullo set it at that time. The flames destroyed her entire one-and-a-half-story house and, tragically, resulted in the death a dog. The Milltown Fire Department, with help from the North Brunswick Fire Department, were able to gain control of the fire and prevented it from spreading to nearby houses. The investigation is active and is continuing.

Bail was set at $150,000. Piciullo was arrested and charged during an investigation by Lt. Christopher Johnson of the Milltown Police Department and Sgt. Wayne Canastra and Detective Nicholas Chiorello, both of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. They were assisted by Deputy Fire Marshal James Rinker and Deputy Fire Marshal Scott Volkmann of the Middlesex County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Anyone with information is asked to call Johnson of the Milltown Police Department at (732) 828-1100 or Chiorello of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3848.