MedicCook
09-15-2006, 01:30 AM
Man who set girlfriend on fire gets 15 years to life
NEW YORK (AP) -- A man who admitted killing his ex-girlfriend by setting her on fire with gasoline as her young son watched was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison.
Sung Chul Jo, 49, pleaded guilty in August to dousing Mi Rae Bae, 45, with gasoline before igniting her with a cigarette lighter in July 2003.
He was distraught that Bae was leaving him and tried to kill himself and her, authorities said.
"The crime was calculated and vicious, and the lengthy prison sentence imposed is more than warranted," District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.
Bae, who was dropping off her 10-year-old son at summer school when Jo attacked her, ran into a nearby convenience store with her hair burning, screaming that her ex-boyfriend had just set her on fire.
She died after being in a coma for 10 days.
Jo, who suffered burns over most of his body and lost some fingers, his ears and his lips, was in a coma for months. He woke asking where his fingers were because he couldn't remember what happened, his lawyer said.
"It's an extremely tragic situation," attorney John Scarpa said.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/09/14/girlfriend.burned.ap/index.html
NEW YORK (AP) -- A man who admitted killing his ex-girlfriend by setting her on fire with gasoline as her young son watched was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison.
Sung Chul Jo, 49, pleaded guilty in August to dousing Mi Rae Bae, 45, with gasoline before igniting her with a cigarette lighter in July 2003.
He was distraught that Bae was leaving him and tried to kill himself and her, authorities said.
"The crime was calculated and vicious, and the lengthy prison sentence imposed is more than warranted," District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.
Bae, who was dropping off her 10-year-old son at summer school when Jo attacked her, ran into a nearby convenience store with her hair burning, screaming that her ex-boyfriend had just set her on fire.
She died after being in a coma for 10 days.
Jo, who suffered burns over most of his body and lost some fingers, his ears and his lips, was in a coma for months. He woke asking where his fingers were because he couldn't remember what happened, his lawyer said.
"It's an extremely tragic situation," attorney John Scarpa said.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/09/14/girlfriend.burned.ap/index.html