Update 4/14: Police have arrested John Turner. We’ll update this post with additional details as they become available.
Police received a report shortly after 6 AM that Turner was at a downtown shelter. A witness had recognized Turner from an online posting about the case and called 911. Officers arrived at the shelter in the 300 block of 2nd Avenue Ext. S. and took Turner into custody. Detectives will attempt to interview Turner about the case before booking him into the King County Jail.
Update:
Detectives have identified the man suspected of setting his girlfriend on fire on the Brighton neighborhood.
Police are now searching for 62-year-old John Turner, who is known to frequent the Downtown and Pioneer Square areas. If you have any information on Turner’s whereabouts, please call 911 immediately.
Original Post:
Detectives are searching for a man who doused his girlfriend in flammable liquid and set her on fire Sunday evening outside her Brighton apartment.
The victim was walking through the parking lot of her apartment in the 7400 block of Rainier Avenue S. around 9:30 pm when she saw her boyfriend standing between two cars in the lot.
The suspect approached the victim, who tried to walk away from him. The suspect then grabbed the victim, began shouting at her, and threw an unidentified fluid on her, splashing some on a friend of the victim, who was standing nearby.
Police believe the suspect then set his girlfriend on fire, also igniting the victim’s friend’s jacket in the process.
As the suspect fled the scene, his girlfriend rushed to a nearby courtyard and rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames all over her chest, face and arms. The victim’s friend was able to remove her own burning jacket, escaping serious injury.
Neighbors witnessed the incident and called 911. Medics transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center with burns over 20 to 30-percent of her body.
Detectives have not yet been able to speak with the victim because of her injuries, but are working to identify the suspect. He is described as a black male in his 60s, 5’7, 145 pounds, with a skinny build, wearing dark clothing at the time of the attack.
If you have any information about this case, please contact detectives at (206) 684-0330.