Pasco man catches fire trying to light wife on fire, police say

Amy Jo Akert woke up Monday morning to the sound of a woman yelling in fear.

"I heard someone screaming, 'Help me, help me,'" Akert said.

When Akert looked out her window, she saw a man on the ground shouting at the woman.

"He screamed, 'I'm going to kill you,'" Akert said.

What happened in the next split-second shocked her.

"He instantly burst into flames," Akert said. "Everything ignited all at once. It was crazy."

It was accidental, Hillsborough County sheriff's detectives said. The victim, Matthew Wong, never meant to set himself ablaze.

The real target, sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said, was Wong's estranged wife.

Wong, 50, was distraught over his marital problems, McKinnon said. He said Wong drove a rental car to Countrywood Apartments sometime overnight or in the early morning on Monday and sat in the car waiting for his estranged wife to leave for work, detectives said.

Gloria Wong, 47, left her apartment about 7 a.m. Armed with two bleach bottles full of gasoline, Matthew Wong then got out of the car and "ambushed" his wife, McKinnon said.

"It appears he was going to light her on fire or he was trying to abduct her," McKinnon said. The couple has been married for 25 years.

This is what happened next, according to the sheriff's office:

Matthew Wong began chasing a screaming Gloria Wong through the apartment complex, threatening to kill her and trying to pour gasoline on her as he ran. Mostly, though, he spilled gasoline on himself.

After a short chase, a neighbor let Gloria Wong into her apartment. Matthew Wong, authorities said, soaked the apartment entrance with gas.

He then lit the fuel-soaked entryway, McKinnon said. The resulting flash from the fire promptly engulfed him in flames.

Gloria Wong was not injured.

Akert said she saw her neighbors rush toward Matthew Wong, dousing him with fire extinguishers and blankets. She said that less than five minutes elapsed from the time she heard Gloria Wong call for help to when neighbors helped Matthew Wong.

Detectives said they searched Matthew Wong's vehicle and found black garbage bags taped to the rear side windows, a blanket taped to the back window, a 2 1/2-gallon gas can, gloves and a roll of tape.

Wong, who has been living in Pasco County since the separation from his wife, was listed in critical condition Monday at Tampa General Hospital.

McKinnon said Wong was so severely burned that he was unconscious when paramedics rushed him to the hospital.