A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly doused her roommate in nail polish remover before setting him alight over an argument about food. Melissa Dawn Sellers, 33 and from Clearwater, was said to have been furious when 42-year-old Carlos Ortiz Jr. threw out her spaghetti and meatballs and flew into a violent rage, setting various items on fire before assaulting him, the New York Daily News reports.
- A friend of Ortiz’s witnessed the whole thing. Ines Causevic, who was at the home at the time of the incident, clearly recalled what happened when Sellers flew off the handle. “She was setting little objects on fire, then that turned into pouring nail polish remover all over him, and then all of a sudden, the lighter sparked and he lit on fire,” she said as per Bay News 9.
- Causevic tried to step in to save Ortiz. She threw water over the victim and pulled off his shirt, which was flaming. While he is still alive and managed to survive, he didn’t escape unharmed.
- The victim had to be hospitalized for his injuries. He was taken to a local hospital where he was said to be in critical condition. He was being treated for burns to his face and torso which were quite severe. As Causevic said: “When he got up, his face was like melting off. His lips were burning.”
- Sellers was arrested and charged. Sellers, who had been staying with Ortiz since losing her job at Walmart and has a previous conviction for battery stemming back to 2008, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery.
