UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – A woman doused with gasoline and set afire allegedly by her estranged husband was hospitalized in stable condition Sunday, authorities said.
Freda Edwards, 39, is being treated in the Washington Hospital Center's burn unit for second- and third-degree burns to her face, neck and upper body.
According to police investigators, Anthony Willoughby, 40, a self-employed landscaper, took the fuel tank off of a gasoline-powered weed trimmer and doused Edwards with the fuel before setting her ablaze around 3 a.m. Saturday.
"We're not sure whether he poured it on her or threw it at her," said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a Prince George's County police spokesman.
Police said the two had argued before the attack. Edwards earlier obtained a restraining order against Willoughby, but visited him late Friday night at his home in Hyattsville.
Edwards ran to her family's Hyattsville home after the attack, where a relative placed a 911 emergency call.
Willoughby later surrendered to police at a friend's home. He was charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder and first- and second-degree assault, Copeland said. He was being held without bond at Prince George's County Detention Center.
The attack is the second such case in Prince George's County in less than a year.
On Oct. 10, Yvette Cade, 32, was attacked by her estranged husband at the cellular telephone store where she worked. Roger Hargrave doused her with gasoline and chased her into the parking lot. When she fell, he ignited the liquid.
Cade is still recovering from the burns and faces additional surgery. Hargrave, 34, of Temple Hills, Md., is serving a life prison sentence following an April conviction on charges of attempted murder and assault.
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