Kathy Wright
Robert RaboldCHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -
A Shippensburg area woman has pleaded no contest to arson charges for setting an apartment fire to collect insurance money.
Kathy Wright, 38, entered the plea Thursday and was sentenced to three months of house arrest with electronic monitoring and two years probation. She must also pay more than $210,000 in restitution, according to online court documents.
She initially pleaded guilty in April, but later withdrew the plea. By pleading no contest, she admits no guilt but does not dispute the charge.
Wright's alleged accomplice, 28-year-old Robert Rabold, of Bellwood, pleaded guilty to arson charges but failed to show up at his sentencing hearing.
Rabold is accused of conspiring with Wright to set the Oct. 16 fire at 7674 Molly Pitcher Highway in Southampton Township. The fire destroyed the apartment where Wright lived with her 12-year-old daughter and a second apartment that was unoccupied, as well as a rear office and a two-car garage in the building.
According to court papers, Rabold claimed Wright offered him half of her $50,000 insurance policy if he helped her start the fire.
Wright spoke with abc27 News a day after the fire and claimed to have lost everything, including the Christmas presents she had purchased for her daughter.
Police said in court documents, however, that the items Wright listed on a $48,600 loss claim were later found in a storage shed.
