Man who blamed demons, aliens gets prison for burning home
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LANCASTER (AP) – A man who blamed aliens and demons for burning down the Pennsylvania home where he lived with his mother must spend five to 20 years in prison.
LNP reported 34-year-old Joshua Witman was sentenced Monday by a Lancaster County judge.
Police said Witman set fire to the home on June 15, 2014 by dousing firewood with transmission fluid and lighting it in the home’s basement.
Police said the Ephrata Township man told them he did that because the basement was a portal for demons, and that aliens were living in the walls of the home.
Prosecutors said Witman has a history of heroin abuse and a criminal record dating to 1999.
The fire damaged the home’s basement and first floor and killed a cat. Witman’s mother wasn’t home.