A New Jersey man who claimed to have tried to save his elderly neighbor by running inside her burning home has been charged with her murder five months later.

William Ahle, 70, was arrested on Wednesday for starting the fatal house fire in Fanwood on July 25, which claimed the life of Virginia Cranwell, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel announced.

Ahle is believed to have called 911 to report smoke coming from a second-story bedroom at Cranwell’s home on Kempshall Terrace.

He told officials he had been walking his dog at 1:30 a.m. when he noticed the fire and rushed into Cranwell’s open garage in an attempt to rescue her, but was pushed back by the flames, WABC reported.

During his alleged heroics, Ahle suffered serious burns and was taken to the Burn Center at Cooperman Barna

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