There may finally be some closure for the family of an 8-year-old girl who died in a fire nearly two decades ago, as Rochester police have the man accused of setting that fire in custody.

An indictment was unsealed on Friday, charging Timothy Kuhn, 63, with second-degree murder and first-degree arson in the death of Savannah Streber.

It’s a case that went cold for nearly 20 years, until the man police believe to be the arsonist was captured in Florida and extradited back to Rochester Thursday night. 

“We know this arrest will not bring her back, but we hope that it will bring you some sense of solace and that the person responsible will finally face a court of law," Rochester Police Chief David Smith said to the Streber family during a news conference Friday.

The Streber family was in court for a long-awaited moment to see the man accused of killing Savannah locked up.

Kuhn plead not guilty to both charges.

“The investigation revealed the fire had started on the back porch and was intentionally set," said Smith. 

On Feb. 28, 2004, at a house on Yates Street, Savannah, her 3-year-old sister Alex, a babysitter and the babysitter’s son were home at the time of the fire. Once outside, the babysitter realized Savannah was no longer with them. She attempted to re-enter the burning house, but the fire was already too intense.

“When firefighters extinguished the fire, they discovered Savannah’s body inside of her mother’s bedroom," said Smith. "It is believed she likely ran into her room looking for her mom."

Savannah’s mother returned from work a short time later.

The family offered a brief statement on Friday following Kuhn’s not-guilty plea. 

“We’re just happy an arrest has finally been made after 20 years,” said Savannah's sister, Kelly Streber. “It’s been far too long. We never gave up. We never stopped fighting. We’re not done yet. Savannah, you have not been forgotten. Let’s get this conviction.”

Police suspected Kuhn from the start.

“Investigators worked tirelessly on this case from the onset,” said Smith. “Timothy Kuhn became a person of interest very early on because of his volatile relationship with Savannah’s mom, Lisa. At the time of the murder, Lisa had a no-contact order of protection against Kuhn from a recent assault.”

The Rochester Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit, the Arson Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked on this case to gather the necessary evidence for the grand jury indictment. 

“It gets challenging after so many years to find what you need to go forward with a case,” said RPD Major Crimes Sgt. David Joseph. “It’s difficult enough when things happen more recently, but when it’s a cold case like this and you get more information, you have to kind of reach out to others and kind of put the puzzle together. So there wasn’t any huge piece that came forward, but it was just some more information that we got and we were able to work with it.”

The Streber family can also be credited with making a difference, as they kept the case public and pushed the police to keep working on the case and to keep it a priority over the last two decades.

Kuhn is being held without bail and is due back in court the first week of February.