Police: Man Douses Smoking Girlfriend With Gas, Kills Her

'I lost it,' he tells reporters
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted May 16, 2016 12:10 PM CDT
Police: Man Douses Smoking Girlfriend With Gas, Kills Her
Police say a man doused his girlfriend in gasoline while she smokes a cigarette.   (Shutterstock)

A man charged with dousing his girlfriend with gasoline as she smoked a cigarette, causing her to burst into flames, told reporters Sunday "I'm sorry" and "I lost it," as he was being led away in handcuffs by police, NBC News reports. Kevin Small, 46, also said that he "hurt someone he loved" and answered "Oh yeah, definitely," when asked whether he should go to jail. Small, who was denied bail, is charged with criminal homicide, arson, and other offenses in the death of Melissa Bacon-Smith, 46, WPVI reports. Authorities responded to a fire at the Lincoln Motel in Bensalem Township, Pa., about 2:30am Sunday, according to reports. After extinguishing flames in a ground-floor room, firefighters discovered Bacon-Smith's severely burned body. Records show the room, No. 103, was registered to Small.

Small was later found walking around elsewhere. Police say his hands were burned and he smelled like gas. Security footage obtained by police shows Small, prior to the fire, walk into a convenience store, leave the store with a coffee cup and matches, and then pump gas into the cup. Other footage shows him return to the motel. "I don't know what sparked it. He claimed she laughed at him earlier in the night, but that's his side of the story," a police lieutenant tells WPVI. "We believe she reached out to him and yelled his name, and he left her in there to die." Police interviewed Small's sister and mother, who said that he called them and admitted to setting Bacon-Smith on fire, according to NBC. He allegedly told his mother that she "looked like Freddy Kruger." Several other people staying at the motel were treated for smoke inhalation. (More homocide stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X