Woman Set Fire At Route 37 Motel, Prosecutor Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A New York woman has been charged with arson in a fire at a Route 37 motel in Toms River, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Constance Koeper, 34, of Elmsford, New York, has been charged in the fire at the Avon Hotel, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Authorities say she used "an open flame" to set fire to "available combustibles," but did not describe the items set on fire further.

The fire was reported shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday and started in a room on the southeast corner of the motel at 2215 Route 37, authorities said.

The prosecutor's office did not say how many people were at the motel at the time of the fire, or the extent of the damage that resulted.

On January 28, 2026, at approximately 11:23 p.m., the Toms River Police and Fire Departments responded to the Avon Hotel for a fire alarm activation.

She was not listed in the Ocean County Corrections inmate database on Monday.

Toms River firefighters put out the fire.

The prosecutor's office arson squad, Toms River police and the fire prevention bureau and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit investigated.