SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 19, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A wife has been charged with multiple offenses, accused of setting her husband on fire.
Formal charges of first-degree felony aggravated arson, second-degree felony obstruction of justice, and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony, were filed in 3rd District Court Thursday against a 31-year-old woman, whose name is being withheld due to mental health issues..
She was arrested in the early morning hours of July 12 after Salt Lake City police and fire responded to the couples’ basement apartment in the area of 1200 W 1300 South. Their landlord, who lived upstairs, awoke that morning to the sound of a man screaming.
She told police she found the husband with burns on his arms, legs and chest, according to charging documents for the woman. The man initially claimed he had caused the injuries himself but his wife allegedly told the landlord she had doused him with lighter fluid then ignited him with a lighter, according to her probable cause affidavit.
“She was worried about (the husband) telling police about what she did, and they did not seek medical attention until (he) said he would tell people it was a drunken accident,” reads the affidavit.
The woman has been held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail since her arrest. Her arraignment is set for July 23.
In asking for a no-bail hold, police wrote in the affidavit that she is “diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and appears to suffer from delusions and mental instability.”
Among those threatened by a possible spreading fire, according to the charging documents, were the couple’s children, ages one and two, and the landlord and her teenage daughter. Police had recommended five counts of aggravated arson.
