Woman burned in domestic violence incident, fire department says

A man poured a flammable liquid on his wife and set her on fire Tuesday afternoon at their home, authorities say.

The woman was in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital late Tuesday with burns over 80 percent of her body. The house was heavily damaged by fire as well.

"He doused her with some type of accelerant which caused her to burn and the rest of the house to burn too," said Deputy Larry McKinnon, a sheriff's office spokesman.

The husband was injured as well and was in serious condition at Tampa General. The sheriff's office would not disclose the nature of his injuries, but neighbors said he appeared to have been cut or stabbed but wasn't suffering from burns.

The sheriff's office has not released the names of the couple, saying next of kin have not yet been notified.

The incident began shortly before 2:30 p.m. when a caller to 911 told dispatchers there were indications of a domestic dispute at the house at 7565 Oxford Garden Circle and that someone had dumped an accelerant on the other and might have set the house on fire.

The tape of the 911 call has not yet been released.

Fire crews found the severely burned woman when they arrived, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said. They also found a man in the home's back yard, also with injuries, he said.

"Initially we had a report of a possible domestic (issue) where a person doused their spouse with gasoline and set them on fire," Yeakley said.

Neighbor Kendra Cataldo said she saw the burning woman come out from the home and also saw an injured man being helped by a neighbor. That neighbor told her the injured man had a cut to his neck, Cataldo said.

The couple's children weren't home when the fire occurred, Yeakley said.

Neighbor Angelo Valdez said the couple who lived in the house had two small children. He said the fire appeared to start in the garage.

Rescuers brought the woman out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask; the man was found on the grass in the back yard, he said.

Valdez said he had not noticed any problems between the couple.

"He seemed like a fine guy, always polite,'' Valdez said. He said he thought the man works in security at Tampa International Airport.

The sheriff's office recently responded to a domestic battery call to the home, McKinnon said. The report was passed to the state attorney's office for review, and the sheriff's office has been waiting for a warrant to be issued against the man, McKinnon said.