Man Sets Fire to Ex-Wife’s Home, Then Kills Himself

A recently divorced man set fire to the home he once shared with his ex-wife and stepson early Saturday, then fatally shot himself in a back room as flames raced through the house.

The ex-wife and her teenage son were not home on the 6300 block of Treehaven Court because the man had threatened both their lives days before, a neighbor said. The neighbor, who requested anonymity, added that the youth narrowly missed an encounter with the disgruntled man.

“He had just came to the house about 20 minutes earlier to pick up some of his things,” she said.

Sheriff’s Deputy Bob Killeen said the man, whose named was withheld pending notification of relatives, entered the house through the garage door and scattered gasoline throughout the living room and front bedroom. He lighted the fire about 2 a.m., then went to the rear bedroom and shot himself in the upper body.

The tract home, in a neatly kept area in West Lancaster, was gutted along with a late-model Honda Civic left in the garage. The flames rose rapidly, waking next-door neighbor Lydia Ward with the sound of window glass popping.

Ward said her husband and three children briefly evacuated her home as firefighters doused the roof with water. “The only thing that saved us was that tile roofing” she said.

The ex-wife had been planning to leave the neighborhood. She had obtained a restraining order against the man, the unidentified neighbor said, and had just placed the house in escrow.

“He controlled her for years,” said the neighbor. “She told him it was over, and I guess he just couldn’t accept not being in control.”