Former Lorain woman gets prison for burning her own house in 2024 so her ex-husband wouldn't get it

ELYRIA — A former Lorain woman who set fire to her Brownell Avenue home in 2024 to spite her soon-to-be ex-husband in their pending divorce was escorted out of Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Monday to serve 5 to 7½ years in prison. Judge Melissa Kobasher sentenced Amber Bodnar-Kurta, 39, now of Cleveland, and ordered her put on the state arson offender's registry. Bodnar-Kurta pleaded guilty in January to three counts of aggravated arson for burning down her own home. She also pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge for not returning a rental truck to U-Haul last year, and got 12 months in prison for that crime concurrent to the arson sentence. Bodnar-Kurta said she had remorse for what she did to her ex-husband, to a neighbor who lost most of her possessions, "the first responders, everybody," she said in court. "This has made a complete mess out of me," she said. "I'm just really sorry. I hope that now that this is all going to be over with, I can start new and work on my mental health." Defense attorney Jenifer Berki said her client has no prior felony convictions, no history of violence, won't be a danger to the public and was sane but going through a "significant period of mental health distress" due to her divorce when she set the fire. John Kurta, who filed for divorce from Bodnar-Kurta in mid-2024, said "she took everything from me" including the house they bought together with her inheritance. "I bought that house so that my two young children would have a place to live forever for the rest of their lives," John Kurta said. "They never had to leave. It was cash paid-for." He asked Kobasher to give Bodnar-Kurta more than 12 years in prison so their son "can make the choice if he wants to deal with this scumbag" after he turns 18. No one was injured in the fire that Bodnar-Kurta started in the first-floor living room at 529 Brownell Ave. the afternoon of Oct. 20, 2024, which spread to 537 Brownell Ave. next door. Lorain firefighters said it took an hour to get the flames under control. The house had to be demolished. Bodnar-Kurta was seen leaving the area in a hurry and later confessed to setting the fire. "Thank God no one was in the house when the fire started," Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Thomas Gentiluomo said in court. "People could have been seriously injured." Jessica Gonzalez was paying $700 per month under a rent-to-own agreement for 537 Brownell Ave. She and her children, then ages 5, 10, 12 and 16, lost everything. "It all got torched. Everything burnt down. My kids' room was the first thing that got torched, they lost everything in it," she testified Monday while asking for restitution for her losses. "We were in the house," when the fire started, Gonzalez said, fighting back tears. "Amber knew. We were in the house." John Kurta, Gonzalez and Ira Huntington all asked Kobasher to award them damages. Berki opposed it for John Kurta and Gonzalez. Kobasher awarded Gonzalez $29,000 in restitution for electrical and flooring work, plus appliances, electronics, furniture, clothing and shoes lost in the fire. Huntington, who also was living at 529 Brownell Ave., was awarded $2,000 in restitution for personal items that burned. John Kurta asked for more than $42,000 in restitution. He and Bodnar-Kurta bought the house with $63,500 from her inheritance and that it was worth $75,000 when it burned, John Kurta said. The house wasn't insured. John Kurta said Bodnar-Kurta paid the bills, but let their homeowners insurance lapse. "I think that I am entitled to half what the house was worth," he said, or $37,500 — plus more for furnishings and his expenses after the fire. Kobasher denied John Kurta any restitution, calling his estimates "speculative." She said house was bought with Bodnar-Kurta's inheritance "so there would be no loss to Mr. Kurta for those items." Huntington said he forgave Bodnar-Kurta, who had let him live in her home. He said he hoped she "sees the error of her ways." "I forgive her. I do. She knows I have," Huntington said. "I wish her the best in where she go and what she do, but don't do that again. Don't make that mistake again in life. She gets another chance to act right in life." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.