WOMAN SET ON FIRE:Police say three men stormedhome, doused her with gasoline
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“It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen,” said a weary Sheriff Jackie Matheny Friday morning after lawmen worked through the night investigating the scene. “This was a very brutal attack against this woman. It’s just horrible and cruel.”
The victim, Gina Thompson, 35, suffered burns over 80 percent of her body and was listed in critical condition at Erlanger Medical Center at press time. She was airlifted there from the scene just before 1 a.m. Friday.
Three New York men authorities say are responsible for the heinous crime have been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated arson. They include Franklin De La Cruz, 26; Luiz Gonzalez, 19; and Ruben Pimentel, 32. Lawmen say Pimentel had lived in neighboring Coffee County for a while and the other two men had arrived in Tennessee from New York the day before the crime.
The incident happened at trailer 40 around 12:30 a.m. Friday. The suspects, who were acquaintances of the victim, were apparently angry at Thompson and doused her with gas while she was sleeping. They then used a lighter to ignite the accelerant. Anger over the disappearance of drugs is what lawmen believe to be the motive.
Matheny said other people besides the suspects were in the house and apparently tried to help the burning woman. Lawmen worked around the clock on the case before issuing charges Saturday morning.
“I’m burning alive, I’m burning alive,” were the shouts Knell McCormick, who lives two doors down, said she heard from outside her door. McCormick said she did not open her door because she saw three strange men standing outside when she peeped out the window.
“I thought it might be a trick because I didn’t see any flames,” McCormick said. “I thought I might be the one they were trying to get. I had just enough time to click my deadbolt. A neighbor called the law when she heard what was happening because I don’t have a phone.”
The victim, who rushed out her door for help when she was set on fire, left a trail of blood spanning about 300 yards, before she was able to alert a neighbor. Investigators marked the bloody trail with numbered markers, with the trail running from trailer 40 to where she received help.
“She told me they poured kerosene on her and set her on fire,” said Marlene Saitta, who spoke with the victim as she waited for emergency crews to arrive. “She was burned really bad, all over.”
Meanwhile, trailer park manager Marion Measels was alerted to a fire at trailer 40 and hurried over to the scene. Once inside, he found flames with a couple containers containing gasoline or kerosene.
“I kept scooping pans of water until I had it put out,” Measels said. “Then I tried to throw the jugs with the stuff out but they were on fire and flamed up when they hit the door when I threw them out.”
Measels pointed out that the jugs of accelerant had the lids on them, suggesting to him the gas or kerosene used to ignite Thompson was poured into a bowl or some kind of open container before it was thrown on the victim.
Neighborhood residents, watching the drama unfold after sunrise as law enforcement officials poured into the normally quiet trailer court, could not believe what had happened.
“This place has always been peaceful and quiet,” said Tommy Belk, who lives a few doors down from where the incident occurred. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It just blows my mind. This has always been a real good place to live.”
According to District Attorney General Dale Potter, his office will seek the maximum penalty against the men.
“We will go for the max,” Potter said, noting should Thompson die, prosecutors will file first-degree murder charges and seek the maximum penalty for that crime too. The maximum punishment for first-degree murder is death by lethal injection.
Presently, the men face up to 25 years on both the arson and aggravated assault counts. They are being held under half-million dollar bonds at Warren County Jail.