Man, Woman Douse Each Other With Lighter Fluid

POSTED: 8:36 am CST November 1, 2005 UPDATED: 8:50 am CST November 1, 2005

HOUSTON -- Police said a couple's night of drinking at a southwest Houston home ended fatally Tuesday morning when the man caught on fire.

Officers with the Houston Police Department said the man and his wife were drinking and arguing at a home on Dairy Ashford Road near Huntington Crest Drive at about 10 p.m. Monday when they ended up spraying lighter fluid on each other.

Investigators said the man and woman pulled out lighters and that the man caught fire. He later died at a nearby hospital from heart failure.

Police are questioning the man's wife. They have not said if she will be charged with her husband's death.

Submitted on 11/01/2005

Submitted by: Oscar
Reference: www.abc13.com; 11/1/05

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

Greg said:
Maybe Toss: Other
I'm not sure about this one really. Sounds like a potential murder case to me.

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I am voting neutral on this because the circumstances are, IMO, not your usual murder scenario. AND because we don't yet know who lit the match. If one is soaked with a flammable liquid and lights a match, chances are he will light up before his intended target (besides, a flung match only has about a 50-50 chance of staying lit). Finally, I find the whole scenario rather humorous in a very dark way. I hope my fellow moderators forgive me, but this one's too bizarre to pass up!

Tracy said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
Not sure about this one - technically the wife may have committed murder - but anyone with lighter fluid all over would surely keep away from lighters?

Jack said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Actually, this is already on the Slush Pile ("Let's play with fire"), but this seems to be the original submission, so I'm voting to keep it so that our readers can see both versions.

Sheryl said:
Maybe Toss: No Self-Selection
Wow, this is a weird one. Oddly enough, I've recently read about a murder scenario that almost mimics this one. The one thing that stops me from voting it in is the lack of self selection. As I see it, either one of them could have gone up in flames. In fact, I'm surprised both of them didn't, given the amount of volatile fumes that would have been present.

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