Authorities believe Penryn house fire death of couple caused by wife's arson

By Mike Fitch, Journal Staff WriterAuthorities announced Tuesday they believe a Jan. 19 house fire that killed two Penryn residents was started by one of the victims.The Placer County Sheriff?s Department said Tuesday that arson investigators are convinced 59-year-old Bertha Sue Jacobson started the blaze after pouring gasoline and other flammable materials around the interior of the home she shared with husband Donald Corden Jacobson, 62.At a press conference, investigators said they may never know the woman?s motive.?We don?t know why the fire was started by Bertha,? said Sheriff?s Lt. Rick Armstrong, reporting that investigators also are not sure whether the woman intended to commit suicide or not.Armstrong said the woman had threatened to burn down the house at 7935 Rock Springs Road in the past and was a suspected arsonist. Authorities believe, for example, Bertha Jacobson set fire to a barn on the property two weeks before the house blaze.Armstrong also reported the woman had a daughter remove belongings stored in the house a couple of days before the fire, as though something was about to happen.Authorities reported that Bertha Jacobson?s blood alcohol level was .18 percent at the time of her death, more than double the state?s .08 percent threshold for drunken drivers.?I would classify her as a disturbed individual,? Armstrong said, indicating Bertha Armstrong was taken to a mental facility for observation in 1990.In a press release, Sheriff Edward N. Bonner said investigators found no evidence of foul play before the fire or signs that an outsider might have started the blaze.?There was no evidence of burglary or of forced entry into the home,? he explained. ?It was further determined that there was no motive for someone else to commit this crime against the couple.?Phil Porto, an investigator for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Donald Jacobson apparently was in bed when the house fire started. He apparently tried to escape, reaching a sliding-glass door at the rear of the house before he was overcome by smoke and super-heated air from the fire.The residence was one of several rural houses clustered together in the shadow of Interstate 80.Don Jacobson retired in 1999 after working for many years at the Nevada Irrigation District. e