The New York man suspected of spraying a 73-year-old woman with gasoline and setting her on fire in an elevator was charged Monday with murder and arson.
Jerome Isaac appeared in court with the left side of his face badly burned and peeling. He said nothing. He was held without bail, and his lawyer requested solitary confinement for the 47-year-old, as well as medical attention.
Surveillance video from the elevator shows the attack.
According to the criminal complaint, Isaac sprayed Delores Gillespie with gasoline as she stood in the elevator that had just opened to the 5th floor of her apartment building. She crouched and cowered, grocery bags draped off her arms.
Isaac pulled out a barbecue-style lighter, authorities said, and used it to ignite a rag in a bottle. He waited a few seconds, then backed out of the elevator and tossed the flaming bottle in, authorities said.
Gillespie died from burns to her body and smoke inhalation, according to the criminal complaint.
Isaac has no criminal record, but that does not mean he is not highly dangerous, Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Taub said.
"I know this is the defendant's first offense, but the depravity of this particular single act is beyond my description," he said.
Isaac's next court date is Friday.
After Isaac fled the building, he went around the corner and set his brother's apartment door on fire, according to the complaint.
Police believe Isaac then hid on a nearby rooftop for hours before he surrendered to police, reeking of gasoline.
According to police, he said he burned Gillespie because she owed him $2,000 for some odd jobs he had done for her.
When Jaime Holguin, who lives on the same floor as Gillespie, saw surveillance pictures of the attacker he said, "Oh, my God!"
Holguin, the manager of news development for The Associated Press, said the man in the surveillance pictures looked like a man who had lived with Gillespie for about six months last year and appeared to have been helping her out.
Gillespie's arrangement with Isaac appeared to have ended by early 2011, but months later Holguin started seeing the man nearby on the street, looking "a lot more disheveled" and pushing a cart full of aluminum cans.
Holguin said the fire melted the elevator door.
Holguin said he and his girlfriend had taken the elevator on their way out of the building shortly before the attack. They didn't see anyone on the floor with them but did notice an odd smell, as if someone was painting, he said.
He remembered Gillespie as nice but sometimes a little off. "At least with me, some days she'd be very, very pleasant, and then the next time, she would almost ignore me," he said.
Gillespie also went through a period this year where she would place duct tape over her apartment door whenever she left, Holguin said.
___
Associated Press writers Deepti Hajela and Colleen Long contributed to this report.
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5,645 comments
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1151Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!27Prince Of Lebona • Chicago, United States • 15 hours ago
Honestly sometimes when i hear/see things like this i just wonder how someone can have so much hate as to watch a person die or try to attempt to inflict enough pain (emotional, physical, mental, ect) that it breaks down a persons life. I honestly believe there are some true demons walking this... More
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268Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!6David • Pittsburgh, United States • 15 hours ago
"Suspected"? He's on the film setting her on fire...are there maybe twins??
14 Replies
325Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!9My 2 Cents 14 hours ago
What was the point of pointing out her eccentricities? He's guilty, that's the story.
21 Replies
416Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!13Bender • Valencia, United States • 15 hours ago
wow evil personified!
17 Replies
194Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!6Arthur D • Miami, United States • 15 hours ago
animals don't behave like this. this is what a real life monster looks like. no tails, scales, or gruesome appearance. just look in the mirror. did she deserve that? rhetorical. RIP
10 Replies
781Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!36Boborama • Nanaimo, Canada • 15 hours ago
There's a special place in hell for this one....
63 Replies
520Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!13OSOK1800m • Atlanta, United States • 15 hours ago
I dont care what his race is or hers. To set fire to anyone is beyond human and this pos needs to never see freedom again.
22 Replies
718Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!35Glen • Topeka, United States • 15 hours ago
I hope he gets put to death for killing the lady in the elevator. He is an animal and we should not be forced to house and feed him for the rest of his life.
38 Replies
473Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!22Melissa • Wheat Ridge, United States • 15 hours ago
why would anyone do that?!
56 Replies
857Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!46JustMe 15 hours ago
Can somebody tell me why we don't have an immediate death penalty for these cockroaches?
85 Replies
292Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!13Travis 15 hours ago
Wow, what is the world coming to? People are just insane nowadays, it's ridiculous! Think before you act people! #$%$
24 Replies
698Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!37Mike In Lansing • Holt, United States • 15 hours ago
I got an idea as to how to deal with him. It includes a lighter and gasoline.
22 Replies
511Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!30Michael W • Atlanta, United States • 15 hours ago
What a horrific thing to do to an elderly lady. This man probably will get life in prison on the New York taxpayers check but here's hoping they do the right thing and seek out the death penalty and maybe we can set him on fire inside of a cell.
48 Replies
27Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!0Steve • Warren, United States • 14 hours ago
They should set his #$%$ on fire right in the middle of times square.
2 Replies
237Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!13JBB • Tujunga, United States • 15 hours ago
Medical attention? I think not. And, how do we know that this is his first crime? Could be that this is the one that he is being held for and that he has committed other crimes before this one.
18 Replies
352Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!25LARRY E • Pleasanton, United States • 15 hours ago
Too bad the cops didn't have a match on them when they caught this #$%$ I would have lit his butt up and claimed he did it to himself. Another piece of trash that the NY taxpayer will have to support for the next 30-40 years behind bars. Not to mention paying for his medical costs.
10 Replies
264Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!18TIGER NATION • Memphis, United States • 15 hours ago
That POS needs to be set on fire and see what is like to be burnt to death.
4 Replies
436Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!34Tmort63 • Churchville, United States • 15 hours ago
eye for an eye,,,burn him!!!
22 Replies
531Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!35Get Real • Tampa, United States • 15 hours ago
Prepare to support this monster for the rest of his life. Justice no longer exists.
21 Replies
530Please sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!35Anon 15 hours ago
Kill him now! Don't waste taxpayers' money!
23 Replies
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