Leigh Ann Sepelyak, Pennsylvania Woman Tries To Extinguish Flames With Urine After Setting Boyfriend Ablaze
A Pennsylvania woman faced multiple charges including attempted homicide and arson after she set her sleeping boyfriend on fire and tried to extinguish the flames with urine later, reports said Monday.
Leigh Ann Sepelyak, 38, from Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, was said to have allegedly poured gasoline on her boyfriend Saturday while he was asleep at their residence. She reportedly set him on fire with a cigarette. After setting him up in flames, she tried to douse it with her urine.
Penn Hills police said the couple had an argument late Saturday and early Sunday, after which the man went to sleep and Sepelyak set him on fire.
“Apparently, when this argument was over, the boyfriend went to sleep on the mattress. They lived in the basement, and for some reason, the young lady decided to dump gasoline on him and set him on fire,” Penn Hills Police Chief Howard Burton said, CBS Pittsburgh reported. The police chief also said the couple lived with the woman's parents.
The victim, identified as Grady Spencer III, reportedly jumped out of bed after he realized he was set on fire. Sepelyak regretted her decision and resorted to using a bucket full of urine to put out the flames, police said.
Since the couple was said to be living in a basement apartment that did not have a bathroom, they often kept buckets so they did not have to bother their parents when they wanted to use the bathroom.
“I think they had enough urine there to put him out,” Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton said.
The incident woke up the woman’s parents and they helped carry Spencer to UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“The parents, when they heard screaming and smelled the smoke, helped put him out — I think with the same urine — and went to the hospital,” Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton told Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
There was no damage to the property, however, Spencer’s lower body suffered 25 to 35 percent burns. He is being treated at the hospital for his injuries. Sepelyak was released Monday on a $100 bail.
“I can’t see how that’s an accident when it happens at 4:40 a.m. and the gas was 25 to 30 feet away from the bed. It had to be carried,” Burton said referring to the incident, according to Tribune-Review.
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Spencer did not suffer any life-threatening injuries and he spoke to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review from his hospital bed Tuesday about the incident. He, on the contrary, told the Tribune-Review that his girlfriend was innocent and it was actually his fault.
Spencer described himself as “completely drunk” when he said he tried to fix a weed whacker Saturday and spilled gasoline on his body while trying to light a cigarette, following which his lower body caught fire.
“If she didn't use urine, it would have been a lot worse. My crotch would have been melted if she didn't,” said Spencer adding, “I can only thank her for that.”
However, Police Chief Burton said they had filed charges against Sepelyak based on the information they had received. Police also said they want the case to be solved in court.
“If (Spencer) wants to tell his side of the story, he'll have to testify in front of (Penn Hills District Judge Anthony DeLuca) and ultimately (DeLuca) will have to decide,” Burton said.
Sepelyak's hearing is scheduled for July 17.
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