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Woodstock Man Acquitted Of Setting Woman On Fire

WOODSTOCK, Ill. (AP) -- A suburban Chicago man has been acquitted of attempted murder and aggravated battery for allegedly spraying a female acquaintance with an accelerant and setting her afire.

A McHenry County jury deliberated for about four hours Thursday before returning a not guilty verdict for 34-year-old Anthony D. Cohn.

Cohn of Woodstock was charged a day after he and the 36-year-old acquaintance got into an argument. Woodstock Police Chief Robert Lowen says it was after the argument that Cohn attacked the woman.

After the verdict, defense attorney John Gaffney highlighted lacking physical evidence and witness reliability issues for the outcome.

The state's only two eyewitnesses to the alleged crime testified they couldn't remember what happened, or they were too drunk at the time they gave statements to police.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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