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Volunteers serve Mexican Breakfast at St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre

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When to call 911 training held at LCCC

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A man is expected to stand trial in April on charges he set fire to a Chester Street residence more than seven years ago, killing his girlfriend and her daughter.</p><p>Joseph Walter Derhammer, 46, of Wilkes-Barre, is accused of setting a pile of rags on fire on the back porch of 46 Chester St. on April 13, 2009. Flames quickly spread through the house, trapping Nancy Kostelnick, 48, and her daughter, Carolyn &#8220;CJ&#8221; Kostelnick, 23, who called 911 crying for help. The pair died from smoke inhalation.</p><p>Derhammer&#8217;s trial date has been held up for years as attorneys battled over evidence and the convicted sex offender appealed his four- to eight-year sentence for failing to comply with Megan&#8217;s Law requirements. The state Superior Court upheld the sentence, imposed in 2011, in a ruling issued earlier this year.</p><p>In a seperate ruling, the court upheld Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr.&#8217;s 2013 decision to forbid prosecutors from introducing evidence Derhammer didn&#8217;t ask about the welfare of the two women following the blaze.</p><p>Sklarosky, however, allowed prosecutors to reference &#8220;interaction and exchanges&#8221; Derhammer had throughout his interviews with investigators.</p><p>At a brief hearing Tuesday, Sklarosky said he will issue an order setting the trial for sometime in April. Sklarosky did not specify a date.</p><p>Derhammer was arrested at his residence following the fatal fire and arraigned by District Judge Paul Roberts in Kingston on four counts of arson, two counts of criminal homicide and a single count of criminal attempt to commit homicide, according to Times Leader archives.</p><p>Former Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said Carolyn Kostelnick had called 911 when she became trapped on the second floor.</p><p>&#8220;It is disturbing and very chilling to hear the tape,&#8221; Musto Carroll said in February 2011. &#8220;CJ and her mother are heard screaming and choking, telling 911 they could not breathe. This lasted a few minutes; they were unable to be saved from the fire.&#8221;</p><p>The pair&#8217;s bodies were discovered on the home&#8217;s second floor.</p><p>Nancy Kostelnick&#8217;s husband, Joseph Kostelnick, escaped the blaze and was pushed back by flames when he realized his wife and daughter did not make it out, Musto Carroll had said. Derhammer was openly dating Nancy Kosetlnick and lived at the family home at the time, she had said.</p><p>According to the criminal complaint, Nancy Kostelnick on April 1, 2009, told Derhammer to get out of the house. He returned two days later, demanding money for rent he had paid. Nancy Kostelnick refused to give him the money, leading to Derhammer making threats.</p><p>A witness allegedly heard Derhammer arguing with Nancy Kostelnick on a phone several days before the deadly blaze. Hours before the fire, Derhammer was sitting in a motel room with a woman saying, &#8220;I&#8217;ll burn her (expletive) house down,&#8221; the complaint says.</p><p>Investigators said a neighbor allegedly saw Derhammer walking away from the Kostelnick house just minutes before the blaze.</p><p>Derhammer allegedly confessed to his cousin on June 22, 2010, saying, &#8220;I (expletive) up. I should never have done it. I cared for her. I was pissed she didn&#8217;t want to be with me; she wanted to be with another guy.&#8221;</p><p>Derhammer was charged with violating Megan&#8217;s Law as authorities investigating the fire discovered he had not notified state police of his address change when Nancy Kostelnick kicked him out April 1, 2009.</p><p>Derhammer remains jailed at State Correctional Institution Retreat.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Joseph Walter Derhammer, 46, is charged with two counts of homicide and related charges stemming from a fire that killed a mother and daughter in 2009. A county judge on Tuesday set his trial date for April. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_IMG_4575-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Joseph Walter Derhammer, 46, is charged with two counts of homicide and related charges stemming from a fire that killed a mother and daughter in 2009. A county judge on Tuesday set his trial date for April. </caption0><photoCredit0>Joe Dolinsky | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Trial date set for man charged with setting 2009 blaze that killed mother, daughter