Two local men, Alex Harrington Jr. and Joseph Skochelak, went on an arson binge fueled by alcohol in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014, in rural Delaware.

The fiery rampage began at 1:47 a.m. by breaking into the Healing Hands Christian Church in Felton, Delaware. Motivated by greed and a need for money, they decided to commit a few burglaries. The pair torched the church, and despite efforts of the Felton Volunteer and Frederica Volunteer Fire Companies, the church was completely destroyed. While still fighting the fire at the Healing Hands Christian Church, firefighters received word at 2:05 a.m. of another fire at Manship Chapel, just four miles away. The two men ended the arson spree by setting a third fire at the Laws Mennonite Church in nearby Frederica, with the 911 call received at 5:21 a.m.

Whilst the Healing Hands Christian Church was a complete loss ($75,000), the other two churches, Manship Chapel ($1,000) and Laws Mennonite Church ($10,000), suffered much less damage and were extinguished quickly. The close-knit Kent County community was still devastated. No sprinkler/fire suppression systems were present at any of the churches. Manship Chapel was equipped with a fire alarm system that was activated by smoke detectors inside the building, and then it notified 911 emergency services. The fire at Laws Mennonite Church was called into 911 by a passer-by who observed smoke coming from the eaves of the building.

The fires were investigated by the Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the FBI. The arson fires were all set with an open flame (lighter or matches) to flammable/combustible materials, with the Manship Chapel having two separate areas of origin. The two men were known by local law enforcement as logical suspects, but showing that they set the fires wouldn’t be easy – proving arson never is.

The big break in the case occurred when fire investigators found a discarded whiskey bottle at the Manship Chapel scene. Working with local merchants, they were able to find where the whiskey bottle was sold, and who had purchased it. The suspects had used a credit card to pay for the item, and the owner of the liquor store was able to positively identify Harrington as the purchaser. Additionally, DNA evidence confirmed the suspects’ presence at one crime scene.

Once arrested, both Harrington, 26, and Skochelak, 25, confessed to the break-ins but denied setting the fires, blaming each other for that crime. On April 23, 2015, the duo pled guilty to a trio of second degree arson counts, third degree burglary, and second degree conspiracy. On June 25, in Kent County Superior Court, they were sentenced to more than eight years in prison, but the sentences were reduced to 10 months.