An Erie County man was arrested Sunday on charges of torching his home and killing his young daughter, who lived with her mother in the Pittsburgh area and was visiting him, officials said. Police arrested Stephen Treiber, 31, of Millcreek Township at a hotel near Erie and charged him with the death of Jessica Treiber, 2, who died early Saturday in the fire that engulfed her father’s home, said Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk. Treiber was charged with one count of criminal homicide/murder, one count of arson, one count of risking a catastrophe and five counts of recklessly endangering another person, Foulk said. The little girl was found in her crib by firefighters and was taken to St. Vincent Health Center, Erie, where she was pronounced dead, authorities said. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook’s office conducted an autopsy Saturday and Cook said she died of smoke inhalation. Millcreek Township Detective Sgt. Steve Danowski said the parents were divorced and Jessica was visiting her father. The girl’s mother, Jodie Treiber, moved to the Pittsburgh area from Millcreek less than two years ago, according to Treiber’s neighbors. A family member in Elizabeth Township declined to comment. Foulk said Jessica Treiber had lived with her mother in the Pittsburgh area. He also said the parents were separated or divorced but Jodie Treiber was the primary guardian. Stephen Treiber was arraigned late yesterday and expected to be sent to the Erie County Jail without bond, Foulk said. Foulk would not comment on Treiber’s motive for setting the fire. Foulk said his office was waiting for the results of additional toxicology tests conducted by the coroner and testing of various materials sent to the state police crime lab in Greensburg. The chief of the fire department that handled the fatal blaze said six other properties – owned or lived in by Stephen Treiber – have caught fire since 1995, including Treiber’s parents’ home. ‘When someone has that many fires in that short period of time and he owns all the properties, I would think that investigators think that’s very prudent to look at,’ said Robert Vitron, chief of the West Lake Fire Department. He said the state police, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ Pittsburgh office were involved in the investigation, along with police and fire officials in Millcreek. Attempts to reach Treiber were not successful, including messages left at his parents’ home in Millcreek, which neighbors said has been rebuilt. Cook, the coroner, said the girl’s mother was believed to have been in Pittsburgh at the time of the fire. Firefighters had little chance to salvage Treiber’s 2 &*#189;-story home Friday as it was fully engulfed in flames by the time they arrived, Vitron said. The house also had caught fire in 1995, Vitron said. The fire was suspicious but no arrests were made, he said. Treiber’s parents’ home was destroyed by a December 1999 fire, which also was ruled suspicious, but no arrests were made, Vitron said. None of the other suspicious fires involving Treiber’s properties involved fatalities, Vitron said. The fire that killed Jessica Treiber has jolted neighbors in the mostly residential township. ‘I just hope they find out what happened,’ said Carole Jakubowski, who lives on the same block as Treiber. Jim Ritchie can be reached at jritchie@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7933.

---

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---