New Arson Charged Filed
Against Sharon Woman
By Sandy Cooch

A 49-year-old Sharon woman, who was charged with attempted arson and burglary last month, in connection with a Sept. 29 fire in Woodstock, now faces similar charges in connection with a fire the same day in Hartland that killed three pets.

Cheryle Potwin, who has told police she has at least nine different personalities, was recently found to be competent to stand trial on the charges filed early last month in connection with the Woodstock fire.

According to court records, in that incident a Woodstock resident came downstairs to find a woman, later identified as Potwin, starting a fire inside his home, midday Sept. 29.

Since that incident, fire investigators in Vermont and New Hampshire have been trying to determine if Potwin might be responsible for a number of unsolved arsons in the two states during August and September.

Two of those fires occurred on the same day as the Woodstock fire. One, in the morning of Sept. 29, leveled a Plainfield, N.H. home and the other is the Hartland fire that Potwin is now accused of setting.

In the Hartland arson case, homeowner Ed Tobias came home at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 to find his garage door dented—as if hit by a vehicle—and the house filled with smoke. The smoke, which killed two young cats and a 13-year-old parrot, came from a fire that had been set in the basement of the home. Investigators said combustible material had been piled in the center of the basement and ignited.

The house suffered significant damage, but remained structurally sound.

Det. Sgt. Thomas Williams, a fire investigator with state police, said Monday that information and forensic evidence led to the new charges being filed against Potwin in connection with the Hartland fire. Potwin, who has remained in state custody since her arrest following the Woodstock fire, has been cited to appear in Windsor District Court Jan. 30, on new charges of first-degree arson, burglary, and unlawful mischief.

Five Unsolved Arsons

Unsolved arsons in Vermont include a series of suspicious fires Aug. 18 in Sharon, Royalton, and Barnard, plus a West Hartford fire the following day.

Two Route 14 homes, in Sharon and West Hartford, were destroyed in these fires, as was a storage trailer in Royalton. A camp in Barnard was damaged.

No people were harmed in the fires; however, two West Hartford residents, carrying their three pets, had to use a ladder to flee the 2:30 a.m. fire that destroyed their home.

Also unsolved is a morning fire, occurring the same day as the Woodstock and Hartland fires, which destroyed a Plainfield, N.H. home.

After her Oct. 2 arraignment on charges related to the Woodstock fire, Potwin was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and was taken to the Vermont State Hospital.

Acting on the recommendation of a state psychiatric expert, Windsor District Court Judge Robert Bent on Nov. 17 ruled that Potwin was competent to stand trial on the Woodstock charges.

However, Dr. Margaret Bolton noted in her testimony that Potwin felt the pressures of a courtroom trial might cause her "to switch" to another personality.

Potwin made it through the evaluation "without switching … with some exceptions, as Cheryle," the doctor said.

Potwin is being held in a Department of Corrections facility in Waterbury while the charges against her proceed, either to trial, or more likely, to plea agreements.

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