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Ulster County resident Timothy Benzenhoefer, age 44, of the hamlet of Malden-on-Hudson, was sentenced on Friday, May 19 to 5 to 15 years in state prison for arson which he committed as part of his ongoing domestic abuse, said the Ulster County District Attorney Office.
The fire took place on Wednesday, June 25, 2022, a few days after calling off his engagement to the victim, Benzenhoefer completely burned to the ground the home where the victim and her two minor daughters lived in Saugerties, the DA said.
Two days earlier, Benzenhoefer was removed from the house after a court order was issued to protect the victim and her children from the abuse.
Benzenhoefer and the victim were intimate partners living together with her minor children at home in Saugerties meeting the definition of family members under state law, the DA's Office said.
Some of the domestic abuse were physical with the victim and her older child, but most were verbal to her and the children whom he disparagingly referred to as “immigrants” because their late father was Mexican.
He once threatened to kill them and burn down the house, the DA's Office said.
On Tuesday, June 21, 2022, Saugerties Police responded to the victim’s home after Benzenhoefer had cut the cable and internet supply to the home, as well as cut wires for other household items, court records show.
The victim became so concerned that she had relatives stay overnight for her safety. On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, the victims filed for and obtained an Order of Protection directing Benzenhoefer to stay away from them.
He was served with the order on Thursday, June 23, 2022.
Fearing for their safety the victims packed up personal items and stayed elsewhere and were, luckily, not in the house on the night of Friday, June 24 when Benzenhoefer burned down their house.
A passing motorist saw the after-midnight fire and reported it to 911. Officers from the Saugerties Police Department responded and, despite facing personal harm, entered the smoke- and flame-filled house to assess if anyone was inside.
The next day, a Saugerties Police officer responding to an emergency call for Benzenhoefer at his friend’s home connected him with the arson incident and he was arrested.
Following thorough investigative work by the Saugerties Police and Ulster County Arson Task Force, Benzenhoefer guilty in February of this year and was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed by law for arson.
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