Jealous Doctor Sent Creepy Photos to Family of Ex's New Flame — then Targeted a 99-Year-Old Grandma
A Pennsylvania doctor learned her fate after pleading guilty to terrorizing the family of her ex-boyfriend's new love.
On Wednesday, March 28, former infectious disease doctor Amy Cohen, 36, of Narberth, was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to arson, terroristic threats with the intent to terrorize another and other crimes, according to online court records.
As part of her plea agreement, an attempted murder charge was dropped, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
She was credited for the six months she spent in an inpatient mental health facility after the crimes, the Inquirer reported.
Given her mental health struggles, defense attorney John McMahon asked the judge to release her on probation, with credit served for the time she spent in jail, and two hospitals, according to the Inquirer.
Going to jail would make her 'backslide' and 'lose the benefit of all this treatment,' he said.
The judge disagreed, telling Cohen, 'The next step in your rehabilitation process is understanding there are consequences for your actions and accepting them.'
The crimes initially came to authorities' attention on Nov. 24, 2023, when Lower Merion Township police began investigating a report about a threatening flyer found at a grandmother's home, the department said in a statement.
The flyer featured anti-semitic language and pictures of the woman's two granddaughters, with their eyes crossed out, police said, according to the Philly Voice. It also said the granddaughters needed to "quit their jobs and move out of Pennsylvania," according to police.
On Nov. 30, police and firefighters were called to the home again when a fire was set at the front door.
Surveillance cameras set up after the flyer was found on the property showed a White female setting 'an intentional fire' at the front door while the grandmother was asleep inside, repeatedly trying to accelerate the blaze by spraying the flames with a flammable liquid, police said.
The fire eventually burned out before extending beyond the home's front porch.
The new boyfriend of one of the woman's granddaughters reviewed the footage and immediately recognized the person who set the fire as Cohen, police said, the Inquirer reports.
"Police believe this crime came as a result of Cohen's ex-boyfriend leaving her for another woman," Lieutenant Jim Baitinger said at the time, ABC 6 reports. "The house she allegedly burned belonged to the new girlfriend's 99-year-old grandmother."The man said Cohen was upset about their recent breakup, the Inquirer reports.
Cohen was arrested and charged with attempted murder, arson, aggravated arson, ethnic intimation and other crimes.
She was held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $5 million cash bail before she was released.
Before Cohen was sentenced, the granddaughter, who has not been publicly identified, told the judge that she has been wracked by fear and paranoia since the threats began in 2023, according to the Inquirer.
When Cohen was out on bail, the woman said she felt like she always had to 'look over my shoulder,' the outlet reports.
As for setting the fire, the granddaughter said, 'Amy demonstrated a total disregard for human life which is disgusting, knowing that she is a doctor,' the Inquirer reports.
Her attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Read the original article on People
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