Man Indicted In House Fire That Killed Mom, Companion: Police

A 60-year-old man has been indicted in connection with a house fire that killed two people in South Jersey in October, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced.

Kurt Smith, who lived at the home in the 500 block of Willow Boulevard in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township, has been indicted on two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and one count of third-degree arson.

Smith's mother, 92-year-old Lore Smith, was killed in the fire on Oct. 16, 2018. She had been taken to Lourdes Emergency Department at Deborah Hospital in Pemberton Township, where she was pronounced dead.

Her companion, 92-year-old George Pikunis, was pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood concluded the cause of death in each instance was smoke and soot inhalation, along with thermal burns.

Smith was in the garage with two other people at about 8:30 p.m. that night, when he recklessly lit a flammable material with a cigarette lighter, according to authorities.

He unsuccessfully tried to extinguish the blaze, which quickly spread once the garage door was opened, authorities said.

The two people in the garage with Kurt Smith at the time were not the same two people who were killed, according to authorities. Those two people have not been identified.

Smith is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Bob VanGilst, supervisor of the BCPO Major Crimes Unit, Violent Crimes Section. The investigation was conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, the Pemberton Township Police Department, and the Burlington County Fire Marshal’s Office. The lead investigators are BCPO Detective Erica Ridge and Pemberton Township Detective Tom Lucas.

The indictment was returned on Thursday and signed by Coffina. An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Superior Court.

See related:
Man Charged With Death Of Mom, Companion In House Fire: Cops
2 Family Members Killed In South Jersey House Fire: Police

The attached image of Kurt Smith was provided by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.