A 40-year-old Renton woman told investigators she poured gasoline on her husband and lit him on fire because shooting him would be too nice, according to court documents.
Tatanysha Marie Hedman of Renton was charged Tuesday with first-degree assault for the alleged assault on Vincent E. Phillips, 52, on July 16.
She’s being held in the King County Jail in downtown Seattle on $500,000 bail. Her arraignment is Aug. 5 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
According to charging documents, Hedman poured gasoline on Phillips, including his head and upper chest, while he was in bed. She then lit him on fire. He screamed and Hedman fled the bedroom and out of the apartment.
Phillips followed her, his head on fire. A friend staying at the apartment likened the scene to one from the movie “Ghostriders,” where an actor’s head was on fire.
Phillips fell to the couch, melting the fabric. The visitor threw a blanket over him to put out the flames.
Phillips screamed, but didn’t say anything. He put on some clothes and left the apartment at 2101 S.W. Sunset Boulevard.
He drove a Saturn registered to Hedman to the 7-11 store at 12848 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, where he asked a clerk to call for medical help. According to documents, he told an officer, “My wife did it.” He fell asleep before he could give the officer her name.
But officers traced her name and address through the registration on the Saturn. They also learned the assault had occurred a short distance away.
According to court documents, entering Renton officers could smell a strong odor of gasoline in a Renton apartment on Martin Luther King Way. There were burn marks on the couch in the living and they found a gasoline can.
Phillips was transported to Harborview Medical Center, where he was in critical but stable condition. He may require surgery to repair his damaged skin. Large chunks of skin were peeling down his face, upper chest when officers arrived at the store.
Renton Police asked for the public’s help locating Hedman. She was arrested by members of Renton Police Department special-operations officers the night of July 17.
Hedman admitted to buying gasoline because she intended to set her husband on fire. Shooting him, she told investigators, would be too nice.
According to court documents, she intended to light Phillips on fire because she claims he had molested a relative.
