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The Canton Repository
Friday, February 16, 2007
REPOSITORY STAFF REPORT
LAKE TWP. Investigators have ruled that a township woman who died in her home Oct. 13 set the fire that destroyed the residence.
State fire marshal’s office investigators determined that Deborah L. Hostetler, 49, set the fire in the first-floor living room of her two-story home at 2943 Smith-Kramer St. NE. Hartville firefighters found her body in the living room.
The investigators ruled the fire as arson.
Representatives with the Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau ruled out all accidental causes, according to a news release sent out Thursday from the fire marshal’s office.
Stark County Coroner P.S. Murthy said Hostetler had a lot of prescription medication in her body, and “that would strongly point to suicide.” Murthy said she was being treated for major depression and had a long-term psychiatric history.