Police say Carrick woman set boyfriend on fire

A Carrick woman is accused of setting her boyfriend on fire and then trying to make it look like he had done it to himself.

Dispatchers received calls Sunday night for reports of a 43-year-old man on fire. When officers got to the scene, they spoke to Cecilia Perez, 47, who said her boyfriend put rubbing alcohol to a wound he got at work, then accidentally set himself on fire with an open flame for a marijuana blunt, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

Perez told police she took a bed sheet and tried to put out the fire, the complaint said. Police said she told them her boyfriend was intoxicated and had been drinking for most of the day.

But the boyfriend refuted Perez’ claims and told officers that Perez tried to kill him, according to the complaint. Police said a witness told them they heard a woman threaten to kill someone in the apartment, followed by lots of banging and items clashing in the apartment.

The boyfriend told police that he and Perez were drinking throughout the day and had gotten into an argument, during which Perez then threw isopropyl alcohol on him and caused his clothes to catch fire. Isopropyl alcohol is highly flammable and can ignite when exposed to an open flame, heat or spark.

The boyfriend told police he tried to extinguish the fire by patting himself and taking off his clothing, and ran through the living room before ultimately collapsing from pain in the bedroom.

The boyfriend suffered first- and second-degree burns to his arms, chest and back and was taken to UPMC Mercy’s burn unit.

When police questioned Perez, she told them that she met her boyfriend in April and that they had been in an on-and-off relationship since then. The boyfriend had sought a protection-from-abuse order from Perez earlier this month, but he dropped the request, telling Perez, “I couldn’t do that to you.”

Perez said that leading up to the incident, she accused her boyfriend of infidelity and the argument became physical, the complaint said. She said she “wanted him to feel the hurt and pain” he caused her, according to the complaint.

Perez was arraigned on charges including attempted homicide, arson, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment and taken to Allegheny County Jail after being denied bond.