SANTA ANA : Charges Filed in Spouse-Burning Case
An elderly woman who allegedly set her husband on fire with rubbing alcohol was charged Monday with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and inflicting injury on a dependent adult.
June Carter, a short, frail woman, made a brief appearance Monday at Municipal Court here, where Judge Richard W. Stanford Jr. postponed her arraignment until May 11 so he could find an attorney for her. Stanford also set her bail at $100,000. She remains at Orange County Jail.
Last Thursday at their Santa Ana home, Carter allegedly doused her husband of 30 years with alcohol and lit a match.
Carter was the full-time caretaker for her husband, Paul, 62, who is paralyzed and dying of cancer, police and a relative said. She said she wanted to punish her spouse because he had eaten her chocolate Easter rabbit, police reported.
On Monday, he remained in serious but stable condition in the burn unit at UCI Medical Center, with second- and third-degree burns on 20% of his body, a hospital spokeswoman said.
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