Hillsborough house fire arson, attempted murder trial begins
MyCentralJersey.com
HILLSBOROUGH - Patrick Hammond "could not and did not start the fire" that damaged his girlfriend's Starview Drive house in December 2018, his defense attorney argued in opening remarks in his trial on aggravated arson and attempted murder charges.
Patrick Hammond, 36, has been charged with with setting the Dec. 30, 2018 fire as a result of a "tumultuous" relationship with his "on again, off again," relationship, Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Frank Kolodzieski said before Superior Court Judge Michael Rogers in the bench trial without a jury.
But Marcia Munoz, the public defender representing Hammond, said experts concluded the cause of the fire is "undetermined" and an accidental cause could not be ruled out.