Police arrest man accused of setting girlfriend on fire

SEATTLE -- Police arrested a 62-year-old man accused of setting his girlfriend on fire, law enforcement said.

Police announced John Turner's arrest Tuesday. He was taken into custody just after 6 a.m. at a shelter in the 300 block of 2nd Avenue Ext S. when a witness recognized Turner from an online posting and called 911.

He was taken to King County Jail. It is not yet known what charges Turner could face.

Officers police and firefighters responded to fire calls shortly after 9:00 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 7400 block of Rainier Avenue South.

Witnesses said Turner confronted his girlfriend before dousing her with gasoline and lighting her on fire.  Patricia Workenh tells Q13FOX she was standing so close to the victim that at one point she was on fire too.



“She was hollering and screaming, running back and forth,” Patricia Workenh said of the attack Sunday night.

Workenh could only watch as her good friend, Lisa Cain, screamed in pain, her chest, face and arms engulfed in flames.

“I know the fire burned her clothes off,” Workenh said.

On Monday, detectives gathered pieces of charred clothing and other evidence.