Cohen

        DAYTON, Ohio — A housemate was arrested Tuesday evening in connection with the death of A.J. Cohen, the 21-year-old Symmes Township native who perished in a blaze Sunday at the University of Dayton.

        Police arrested fellow UD student Paul Vincent Morgan, 21, of Rochester, N.Y., on charges of arson and involuntary manslaughter. Mr. Morgan was booked at the Montgomery County Jail and could be scheduled for a court appearance today, offi cials said.

        The arrest of Mr. Morgan “adds another dimension to the level of grief and sadness,” in the UD community, said Bill Schuerman, vice president for student development and dean of students.

        The charges against Mr. Morgan could change after a grand jury hears evidence, and others could be charged because some potential witnesses “have been less than cooperative,” said Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr.

        A few, Mr. Heck said, refused to speak to investigators “and practically interfered with the investigation.”

        Mr. Morgan and Mr. Cohen were among eight students who lived in a university-owned house whose smoke alarm system investigators found disabled after the early Sunday morning fire. Mr. Heck couldn't say who disconnected the alarm system, when or why.

        Mr. Heck also declined to reveal specifics of Mr. Morgan's alleged criminal conduct, simply stating: “This was certainly someone who set a house on fire.”

        Mr. Heck said he couldn't confirm or deny reports that students in the house were playing with fire.

        However, Dayton police reported that the students had been tossing items around, then started igniting rolls of paper towels and throwing them.

        Someone used a fire extinguisher to attack the flames, but when occupants of the house opened the door, oxygen apparently fed the flames, preventing Mr. Cohen's housemates from reaching him as he slept, police said.

        Mr. Cohen, a senior economics major at UD, was a member of the UD football team and was a 1997 graduate of Summit Country Day School in Hyde Park.

        Services for Mr. Cohen are being handled by Mihovk-Rosenacker Funeral Home in White Oak.

        A gathering of friends is set for 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, 5527 Cheviot Road in White Oak. A memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Good Shepherd Church, 8815 E. Kemper Road in Symmes Township.

        The family requests memorial contributions to be made to the A.J. Cohen Scholarship Fund, Summit Country Day School, 2161 Grandin Road, Cincinnati 45208.

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