ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The man accused of setting a fire that killed an 8-year-old girl 20 years ago appeared in court Wednesday afternoon. A judge is determining what evidence can be used against Timothy Kuhn.

The family of that little girl, Savannah Streber, was sitting right there. They were joined by two investigators who worked on the case right after it happened. The family says this is a day they’ve waited a long time for and they hope the case will go to trial.

The lead investigator went back to 2004 and walked through every step of his work from that day until he retired, and Savannah’s family went back to that awful day on Yates Street right with him.

“When the fire happened, it affected my parents, of course, in a way that if pushed on all of us,” Alexandra Streber said. She was just three years old at the time. She made it out of the fire, but her sister Savannah did not.

Kuhn is accused of tossing a Molotov cocktail into the Yates Street home in 2004. Several children were inside, including 8-year-old Savannah Streber, 3-year-old Alexandra, a babysitter, and the babysitter’s son.

Alexandra says the fire changed their family forever.

“It ripped our family apart. He completely shattered her family. He murdered my sister, he beat my mother, and he ripped our family apart. I had to grow up with this pain and this fear of him coming back. So I think that kind of brings it all back to with today and being fearful that this, that there’s a big possibility,” Alexandra said.

“He” is Tim Kuhn — a man police say had a volatile relationship with Savannah’s mother, Lisa. She had an order of protection against him for a previous assault. Kuhn was an early focus in the investigation, but it took 20 years for investigators to get enough evidence to arrest him.

Now, the prosecution must demonstrate why they indicted Kuhn now. The hearing Wednesday was to sort through the evidence collected over the last two decades. Alexandra and her family have been waiting and waiting for it to come to an end.

“We keep kind of getting pushed back. It’s a bit scary, too, because there is a big possibility that our case will not go to trial and he will be set free. And that’s fearful for my family and for other families. Who’s to say that he won’t do it again?” Alexandra said.

Alexandra said Savannah is with her and they will not stop until she gets justice.

“I feel like she’s always lived inside of me. I love her no matter what. No matter the time that we had together. She was a big impact on my life. She, I feel, is the reason I am where I am today. With her spirit being with me,” she said.

If the judge rules in the prosecutor’s favor, this case will go to trial. Prosecutors tell News10NBC that’s when they’ll focus on a new tip in 2018 that re-opened the case and what happened from there.

It was a lengthy hearing and there was a lot of evidence to talk about Wednesday. The hearing will continue on Nov. 6.

Savannah’s family runs a Facebook page in her memory. To visit the page, click here.

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• Inside the Evidence: 8-year-old killed in arson
• Man accused of killing girl in Rochester 20 years ago appears in court
• Dateline: Sister seeks justice for eight-year-old Savannah Streber killed in 2004 house fire that was ruled arson

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