On December 13, 2008, 41-year-old Catherine Novak was found dead in her home in Narrowsburg, with the house engulfed in flames and debris from the burning building piled on top of her body. The case baffled police investigators, who could not determine a cause for the fire or explain why Novak's body was found in the basement.
Five years later, two new arrests may yield some answers. The New York State Police announced Thursday that two men have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
One of the men -- 45-year-old Paul Novak of Palm Coast, Florida -- is Catherine Novak's estranged husband, who was living in Long Island at the time of her death, and who had taken their two children to his house the day before the fire. Paul Novak was arrested in Florida by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office as a fugitive from justice, and faces two counts of murder in the second degree and one count of arson in the third degree. He was remanded to the Flagler County Inmate Facility without bail, and is scheduled to reappear in Flagler County Court today.
Another man, 40-year-old Scott Sherwood of Lindenhurst, NY, was arrested by New York state police in Liberty, and faces one count of murder in the second degree. He was arraigned before Sullivan County Court Judge Michael McGuire and remanded to the Sullivan County Jail without bail to reappear in Sullivan County Court on October 2.
