Charlene Scott and three others face arson charges, police said.
ENGLEWOOD - A woman who tried to get even with her teenaged son's rival is accused of hiring her cousin and his girlfriend to set the youth's car on fire, Englewood police said Monday.
Clockwise from top: Michael Ellis DeFreese, Heather Ives, Ryan Miller and Charlene Scott are charged in an arson plot. (Englewood police) Charlene Scott, 40, allegedly paid the pair to torch a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant about 2 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2015.
Police and firefighters found the vehicle engulfed in flames while parked in the rear of a multi-family dwelling on Mattlage Place, just off West Palisade Avenue, police said.
The vehicle was unoccupied and the blaze was extinguished by the fire department.
Englewood detectives found the registered owner of the vehicle, who has an 18-year-old son.
"They quickly learned that the teenager had been having an ongoing dispute with another Englewood youth," said Detective Captain Timothy Torell.
After a lengthy investigation, police determined that Scott hired her cousin, Michael Ellis DeFreese, 37, of Englewood, and his girlfriend, Heather Ives, 25, to set the vehicle on fire, Torell said.
Another man, Ryan Miller, 26, of Dumont, is accused of helping with the arson and providing a getaway vehicle, Torell said.
All four suspects have been charged with first-degree arson for pay, police said.
Police have not revealed what the original dispute was about.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.