A 17-year-old girl from Indiana County was acquitted of charges she set a house fire that killed her father.

As a result of last night's verdict, authorities were expected to release Codee Wheeler from the Indiana County Jail.

Ms. Wheeler, of Blairsville, had been charged as an adult with criminal homicide, arson and related counts for the fire that killed William Wheeler, 57, a former township supervisor, on March 21, 2007.

Prosecutors said Ms. Wheeler set fire to her home while her adoptive father was inside. Police charged her in July 2007, after first investigating her claims that Mr. Wheeler acted inappropriately toward her, including walking in on her while she showered and walking about the house in his underwear.

Authorities cleared Mr. Wheeler of wrongdoing, then charged Ms. Wheeler with setting the fire.

The jury deliberated less than five hours following four days of testimony.

A state police fire marshal said a trained dog sniffed out some kind of fuel used to start the fire. But an electrical engineer testified for the defense the fire likely was caused by a television that overheated and exploded.