ARLINGTON, Texas – A woman in Texas turned 50 cents worth of fuel into a deadly weapon as she set her boyfriend on fire at a Texas gas station, “melting” the skin off his body and killing him in the process, police said.
Breana Johnson, 24, was identified as the homicidal arsonist. Her boyfriend, Ricky Doyle, 25, died Tuesday in a Dallas-area hospital from burns he suffered in the horrific July 18 attack, the Arlington Police Department revealed, according to NBC DFW.
Johnson and Doyle were arguing at a Shell gas station in Arlington at the time. “I’m going to kill you,” Johnson, was heard telling him, according to a police affidavit.
The woman subsequently entered the gas station and purchased $0.50 cents worth of fuel. Following her purchase, she was seen pouring gas on Doyle while he sat in the backseat of a Jeep.
After dousing her boyfriend with gasoline, Johnson walked around to the driver’s seat and ignited a fire with an unknown object, the New York Post reported.
Doyle was quickly engulfed in flames when he was seen exiting the vehicle and dashing through the parking lot, trying to put out the fire that was enveloping his body.
Another customer responded with a fire extinguisher to assist the desperate man. However, the damage was done. Witnesses described Doyle as “bleeding and had skin that appeared to have melted off his body,” said the police charging document.
As bystanders tried to assist Doyle inside the gas station, his girlfriend told people that she was smoking while pumping gas and that’s why he caught fire.
However, witnesses confronted Johnson, telling her they saw her intentionally ignite the flames. One witness even tried to detain her prior police arrival, but the suspect pushed the person to the ground and drove away while smiling, according to the police report.
Witnesses confronted Johnson, telling her they saw her intentionally set the fire. (Google Maps)
Doyle’s little sister, Mikayla, described what precipitated the deadly July 18 attack, as Doyle and Johnson were arguing outside the family’s home in Arlington, NBC DFW reported.
“She [Johnson] just started beating on his chest. She took his phone. She threw his phone. Then she came back and she picked his phone up, threw it at him, and then started beating his chest,” Mikayla recalled. “We knew she was abusive to him, but we didn’t see this. We didn’t know this was going to come.”
While she was on the phone with police, Mikayla said Johnson took off in her Jeep with Doyle still inside. They eventually stopped at the gas station where the crime occurred.
Doyle’s family said he suffered burns over 90 percent of his body. Only the top of his head, groin and buttocks areas, along with the bottoms of his feet were spared, according to the news outlet.
“I was so scared to touch another part because I didn’t know. I didn’t want to damage another part. I said, ‘would it be OK if I touch his foot?’ He [the doctor] said, ‘yes go ahead,’” Doyle’s mother Lisa said. “That’s the only part of his body I could touch. That’s all that was left.”
After a two-week fight, Doyle died this week. Lisa said her son always dreamed of becoming an author.
“And the times I went and saw him in the hospital, I told him, ‘you didn’t know what kind of story you wanted to tell. But this is a big one. This is a big story for you to write,’” she said. “If you hurt someone that you care about, it’s not love. It’s not love.”
Johnson was initially arrested in July and charged with aggravated assault-bodily injury with a deadly weapon. However, now that Doyle has died, she will be charged with murder.
Johnson is currently being held at the Tarrant County Jail.
