Indictment Man charged after church fire in Laupersdorf SO

The Solothurn public prosecutor's office has charged a 36-year-old man with multiple counts of arson. He is alleged to have set fire to the church in Laupersdorf SO in the fall of 2023 and to be responsible for the total loss of 18 cars at a second-hand car dealership in Grellingen BL, as the public prosecutor's office announced on Monday.

Using petrol as an accelerant, the accused set several fires inside the Catholic church in Laupersdorf SO on Saturday morning, September 16, 2023, causing property damage of CHF 200,000.

On the same day, the 36-year-old Swiss national also set fire to a car in the parking lot of a second-hand car dealer in Grellingen BL. This caused a total of 18 cars to catch fire and resulted in property damage of 120,000 Swiss francs, according to the public prosecutor's office.

The suspect was arrested on the same day. He has partially confessed and is currently serving an early sentence. The date of the main hearing before the Thal-Gäu magistrates' court has not yet been set.