38-year old man charged with attempted murder

A late night house fire in Utica near Seneca has led to the arrest of a 38-year old man on the charge of attempted murder. According to the Oconee Sheriff’s Office, Jacob Daniel Drotning is charged with attempted murder. An arrest affidavit alleges Drotning poured gasoline onto Catherine Cook at 8044 Utica Street and set her on fire. Deputies, along with other emergency responders, were called around 10:45 Friday night to the Utica address and found a woman with burns lying on the porch. They quote her as saying her husband had burned her, but she was unable to say how or why. Cook was described as having 50% burns on her body. Her condition over the weekend was serious.