Freshman, 18, held in fire at college

CINCINNATI (AP) — A judge ordered an 18-year-old student held on $200,000 bond Friday on arson charges in a small fire set at an Ohio college where a series of fires led to evacuation of the college.

The fires at the College of Mount St. Joseph also canceled daytime classes Thursday. One person was treated for smoke inhalation.

A business student, Daviene Hutsell, 28, suffered an apparent seizure during the evacuation and later died.

“We have no evidence linking that death with the fires,” Delphi Township police Lt. Joe Macaluso said Friday. “We are working in conjunction with the coroner’s office to determine the cause of that death.”

Macaluso said an autopsy would be performed.

Police arrested freshman Jordan Cullen on Friday on two counts of aggravated arson. Cullen is charged with setting at least one fire in an art room at the private college, but more charges could come, Police Lt. Jeff Braun said.

He said she was the sole suspect in all five fires.

A message seeking comment was left for Cullen’s attorney, John O’Shea, at his office Friday.

Police said tips from witnesses, primarily students, at the suburban Cincinnati school led to Cullen’s arrest. The fires were in the art building and Seton Center, which houses the dormitory where Cullen lives, Braun said.

The fires began when papers and other debris in four trash cans were ignited, said Matt Mullins, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety. He said papers on three dormitory doors and a bulletin board also were set on fire.

Police would not say what they had learned from Cullen.

“We’re not sure what the motive was at this point,” Braun said Friday.

Hamilton County’s arson task force and the State Fire Marshal’s Office also were investigating.

Damage, mostly due to water used to extinguish the fires, was estimated at less than $20,000, said Delhi Township Fire Chief Bill Zoz.

The fires and the arrest were a major topic of conversation Friday on campus, said senior nursing student Blaire Karg, 23, of suburban Cincinnati.