Trial Set for Woman Charged with Burning Down Her Parents' Home

A mentally ill Sparta woman accused of setting her parents' home on fire is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Newton for a bench trial Oct. 22 at 9 a.m., the New Jersey Herald reported.

Lindsey Kiensicki, who was severely burned in the blaze, is charged with second-degree aggravated arson for allegedly torching her parents' Fox Trail Road home while they were out on Feb. 28. State sentencing guidelines call for a five-to-10-year sentence, but according to Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller, the woman’s mental illness may be taken into consideration as the judge decides her punishment, the article said.

Judge Stuart Minkowitz scheduled a bench trial after Kiensicki waived her right to have a grand jury.