Woman On The Run Charged With Murder For Setting Houston Man On Fire

A 19-year-old woman has been charged with murder after allegedly setting a Houston man on fire that killed him earlier this month. Police are searching for the accused, who remains at large.

Emma Presler has been charged with murder in connection with the arson incident that killed 33-year-old Devin Graham and critically injured his girlfriend Karissa Lindros, 26, earlier this August in the Kingwood area, KHOU 11 reported.

First responders were called to the 2000 block of Aspen Glade Drive near Hidden Pines Drive in the Woodland Hills Village neighborhood on Aug. 6 at around 10 p.m. Houston firefighters were able to get Graham and Lindros out of the burning house. Both the victims were taken to a hospital with severe burn injuries.

Graham, while at the hospital, told police that Presler came inside his home and poured an unknown liquid on him. She then lit him on fire. Graham succumbed to his injuries a few days after the incident, the report said.

Lindros remains in hospital and has reportedly gone through several rounds of surgeries and infections. She will undergo several more surgeries and is fighting for her life, according to her family.

According to police, witnesses reported seeing Presler leaving the scene in a white four-door sedan after the incident.

"Devin has three children who will now have to grow up without a father. [Lindros] is fighting every day of her life to come back to her little girls, her sisters, her mother, and to our family," said Lindros’ aunt, Lisa Sherlock to KTRK. "We actually have a name now, and a face, of who did this."

This incident isn’t Presler’s first brush with crime. She was previously charged with murder in a September 2020 incident that resulted in the death of 20-year-old Sierra Rhodd.

Rhodd was fatally shot while she was sleeping in her bed. Presler was accused of being the getaway driver for Rhodd’s assailant. However, the charges against Presler were dropped after a magistrate judge found no probable cause.

"I wake up and think about it. I go to sleep and think about it. I have nightmares," Krystalee Rhodd, Sierra’s mother, was quoted as saying by KTRK at the time. She still blames Presler for her daughter’s death.

Talking about the latest incident, Krystalee said: "My heart goes out to them (the victims’ families). I know how it feels. I'm just sorry we didn't get justice the first time, or this wouldn't have happened."

Anyone with information on Presler's whereabouts is urged to contact the HPD Major Assaults & Family Violence Division at 713-308-8800 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.