MOLINE -- Police have arrested a suspect and charged him with first degree murder and arson for allegedly setting a fire that killed 88-year-old Marion Dreier of Moline last January.
Jason McChurch from East Moline, was arrested on Monday, June 26 by deputies with the Rock Island County Sheriff's Department. He is in the Rock Island County Jail with bond set at $2 million.
The Jan. 22 fire engulfed a home in the 4000 block of 13th Street in Moline and was quickly deemed suspicious by investigators.
Neighbors said they heard a "big boom" moments before the house went up in flames.
Three other residents managed to escape the burning home unharmed, but Dreier succumbed to injuries sustained in the fire at an area hospital.
McChurch, 34, is scheduled for a first court appearance on Tuesday, June 27.
This is not the first time McChurch has been charged with arson. In March, 2012, a warrant was issued for his arrest for setting a Moline duplex on fire.