Woman arrested in connection with Olson Road arson

A South Bend woman has been arrested in connection with an arson near Rochester in July. 

Skylla Knepp, 24, of South Bend was arrested on November 2. Knepp was charged with arson, damaging the property of another person without consent by means of fire or destructive device; and arson causing damage by fire to the property or another where the loss is at least $5,000, both Level 4 Felonies.

According to reports, emergency personnel were called to a structure fire on West Olson Rd just before 4:30 a.m on July 20. Police noted significant fire damage to the residence and three vehicles on the property. 

It took three hours for firefighters from the Rochester Fire Department, Aubbeenaubee Fire Department and Kewanna Fire Department to extinguish the blaze, resulting in a complete loss and leaving a family of seven displaced. 

The homeowner, Ryan Dille, her live-in boyfriend and several of their children had been in the home when the fire was initially set. Dille says camera footage at the home caught a woman holding a gasoline can before pouring it on a vehicle and lighting it on fire. 

The individual was soon identified as Knepp, who is in a relationship with a man who has an ongoing feud with Dille's boyfriend, with ongoing harassment happening to their family since 2012. Since Knepp's boyfriend was released from prison in 2022, several of Dillle's vehicles had been intentionally set on fire prior to the house fire. 

Dille claimed a friend of Knepp had allegedly told her not to be surprised if her house got set on fire just weeks before the house fire. 

Flock cameras show Knepp's boyfriend's car traveling southbound from South Bend on July 19, before returning to South Bend on July 20, just before 5:30 a.m. 

Detectives pulled Knepp's boyfriend's bank information on July 27, where officers found his debit card was used to purchase gas at a gas station in Argos at 4:58 a.m. July 20. In the surveillance footage at the east station, Knepp was seen entering the store to make the purchase. 

Police interviewed a family member of Knepp's on September 4, who stated they could say the person from the home security footage who had been holding the gas can resembled Knepp. The family member stated arson would not have been out of character for Knepp to commit. 

Knepp allegedly told the family member and the neighbor she had not started the fire because she and her boyfriend had been in Chicago the day of the fire. 

When officers pulled cell phone data for Knepp and her boyfriend it was revealed both devices “registered movement consistent with travel toward the identified crime scene location, after which the devices” moved away.

Knepp is currently being held at the Fulton County Jail. Charges have yet to be filed for Knepp's boyfriend.