Brazilian man who threw alcohol on his wife and set her on fire arrested
A Brazilian military police helicopter flies over Rio de Janeiro on November 24, 2010.
SÃO PAULO, Brazil—Douglas de Souza Laurentino, 21, was arrested in Imbituba, a city in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, for lighting his wife on fire, according to Brazilian news site UOL.
Police received a complaint that a 21-year-old woman had been hospitalized with burns caused by her husband. Officers arrived at the hospital to find Laurentino by his wife's bedside.
Brazilian newspaper Diário do Grande ABC reported that Laurentino alleged his wife was burned when a gas stove exploded in the couple's home, a version of the incident that was discarded after observations made by the Instituto Geral de Perícias (General Institute of Investigations), the government's crime scene investigation unit.
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UOL also reported that Laurentino's version of events was definitely ruled out when the couple's two children made a statement saying he had thrown alcohol on their mother before lighting her on fire.
Laurentino was on parole for drug trafficking and is now being held in Imbituba prison Unidade Prisional Avança (UPA).
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