Michigan man drives over 700 miles and burns homes of someone he talks to his ex
A Michigan man was arrested after he drove 700 miles to open fire at a Pennsylvania man.
The Bensalem Police Department said Harrison Jones, 21, of Rockford, Michigan, was arrested for a fire on a house with six people inside. The people inside were hospitalized, while the family’s two dogs, Trey and Jett, could not escape the house and died.
Officials said that because the mother was able to escape before she discovered the fire and evacuated her family, they heard suspicious voices, adding that some family members even had to jump out of the second-floor window to escape the flames.
“It’s all a miracle that they survived,” Ben Salem Public Safety Director William McVey said in a press conference Monday morning. “And, we owe it to the mother of that house because she took Action to protect family members and make sure they are all alive.”
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Investigators said a Michigan man drove 730 miles to open fire on a Pennsylvania man whose ex-girlfriend communicated online and left six people in the house in the hospital and two dogs died. (Bensalem Town Police Department)
Bensalem Fire Rescue and Bensalem police detectives began investigating the cause of the fire and determined that the fire seemed to have been “intentionally ignited, essentially burning.”
Officials said the only leader in the case was a grainy image of a black sedan in the neighbor surveillance system.
The video captured a car that pulled home around 5 a.m. that morning. A suspect was seen leaving the vehicle and heading towards the back of the house, and officials said he stayed for ten minutes before being seen running away from the house and speeding.
After about 30 seconds, the video shows the house explode as it rises in the flames.
Two days after the fire, investigators were able to trace the vehicle back to Jones, obtain a warrant for arrest, and detain him.
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A suspect in arson, identified as 21, was arrested in Michigan for a home fire in Bensalem in Bensalem last week. (Bensalem Town Police Department)
Investigators added that Jones also had a noticeable burn on his arm.
Officials confirmed that Jones is the ex-boyfriend of a Michigan woman who has been in online relationships with a male resident of Bensalem House since 2023. However, the motivation for the fire is still being investigated.
Court documents obtained by Fox 29 say Jones should have driven his ex-girlfriend to the man she was in Bensalem to come to a local hotel in the near future. Instead, investigators said he drove to Ben Salem with “murder intentions.”
“He drove 730 miles, 11 hours to do what he did, and then drove straight home,” McVeigh said in a news conference.
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Investigators say Harrison Jones, 21, of Michigan, is accused of opening fire at Bensalem, who communicates with his ex-girlfriend online. (Bensalem Town Police Department)
Officials said Jones was charged with six counts of attempted homicide, arson and related offences. He is currently awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.
According to the GoFundMe page, the family was identified as “Andrew and Stacey Zarensky, as well as their two children, Alex and Ava, as well as Stacey’s parents, Joe and Karen Wind Worsky, lost everything.”
“Our family is currently going through a horrible life. If you have animals, you know they are part of your family and they mean everything to this family.”
“Stacy tried to do everything she could to save them, risking her life back to the burning home, but needed to jump out of the second window because she felt she was unconscious.”
The family members who created the GoFundMe Page added that the Zalenski family “has gone through a lot over the past three years, Stacy has had a long and hard battle with cancer and has now lost her home.”
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“They are a kind, loving, caring, generous family, no one should go through everything they’ve gone through. It’s hard enough to deal with cancer, and Stacey has lost her life almost multiple times and now has lost their beloved dog, precious The memories, and everything they have, have been working hard for years.”
Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn told 29 that it was a family’s worst nightmare, not knowing that a stranger broke into the home and tried to take his life by catching a fire. ”
“The family suffered an incredible loss. The defendant’s actions were incomprehensible and he would be responsible.”
In addition to GoFundMe, family members have also opened a fundraiser with the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Association to commemorate their memories. A PAWS spokesman told Fox 29 that they plan to create a plaque that dedicates one of the kennels to Trey and Jett in order to fight for heroism.
Stepheny Price is a writer at Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, state crime cases, illegal immigration and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
