CARIBOU, Maine — A Caribou woman has been charged with murder and arson after a January fire that left one person dead.
Susan Kochanowski, 34, was arrested March 16 and is being held without bail at Aroostook County Jail in Houlton.
The Maine State Police began investigating the fire as potential murder and arson in the days following the 7 Water St. fire, according to court records. Jason Donahue, 30, was found dead at the scene. Twenty-one residents of Water Street apartments were displaced.
Kochanowski was hospitalized at Northern Maine Medical Center for undisclosed reasons and was later transferred to Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor.
During Kochanowski’s initial court appearance in Caribou on March 17, Judge Carrie Linthicum ordered that Kochanowski undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The State Forensic Service must complete the evaluation within 45 days of the court order and file within 60 days of the order.
Kochanowski has also been ordered not to contact members of Donahue’s family.
The court appointed Presque Isle attorneys Adam Swanson and Benjamin Everett of Swanson Law PA to represent Kochanowski.
Kochanowski’s arraignment is slated for July 6.