03/27/2009

Associated Press

Authorities in Jefferson County suspect arson after a church playground dedicated to a child who died of cancer was torched twice in a month.

The fires occurred at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Imperial, causing damage estimated at $36,000.

Mary Truetken says the fires are upsetting. Her son, Jeremiah, was just 9 when he died of brain cancer in 2004.

The first fire happened on Feb. 17, the second on March 17.

A plaque for Jeremiah was salvaged from the flames.

Investigators believe the same people could be behind two other fires that were set on March 17 — one in trash cans at a home near St. Joseph's and one that damaged a house across the street from the church.

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Information from: KTVI-TV, http://www.fox2now.com/