A West Virginia woman who police say was set on fire by her boyfriend last month has died.
Belinda Cox, 48, succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday night at West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh, according to Beckley Police Department.
Authorities say her boyfriend Dwayne Michael Lane, 47, set her on fire at their Earle Street home on September 17 after an argument.
Doctors had given Cox a 17 per cent chance of survival, saying that it would be a ‘miracle’ if she pulled through after 70 per cent of her body was burned – with 61 per cent being 3rd degree burns.
Belinda Cox, 48, has died after her boyfriend set her on fire last month, according to police
Dwayne Michael Lane, 47, is accused of pouring gasoline on Cox and chasing her with a lighter and a paper towel
Still, her family had been hopeful she would recuperate, and raised more than $3,000 for her medical costs as well as for her 14-year-old daughter, who she leaves behind.
‘If you know her – you know kindness, a big beautiful smile, faith and lots of laughter,’ Cox’s family wrote on her YouCaring page. ‘A true joy to her family and friends.’
Lane allegedly doused Cox in gasoline in one of the home’s bedrooms and tried to keep her captive. When she escaped he chased her outside as two girls, ages 10 and 13, watched, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
He had a lighter and a paper towel to ignite the fire, and when the first lighter failed, he grabbed a second one and continued to chase Cox until he got close enough to set her on fire, according to the criminal complaint.
Lane then tried to get back inside the house and light it on fire, but one of the two young witnesses locked the door, the complaint says. Once he fled the neighborhood, the girl threw water on Cox and called the police.
Police say they have learned that Cox and Lane had argued the day of the crime
Police found Cox unresponsive in a neighbor’s yard in Earle Street, West Virginia (pictured), where she lived with Lane
Cox was found unresponsive in a neighbor’s yard, and authorities say they later learned that Cox and Lane had argued.
The criminal complaint says police found Lane in an empty apartment less than two miles away and he was allegedly surrounded by gasoline-soaked clothes.
The complaint claims that at the time of his arrest, Lane said: ‘I knew you would be coming. I’m done. I’m going for life.’
Lane is listed on Facebook as engaged to Cox, and they often shared pictures together, and friends and family called them a ‘beautiful couple’.
Local media reports he was arraigned Thursday on a murder charge.
Lane also faces charges of arson, child neglect, kidnapping and domestic battery. He was being held without bail in the Southern Regional Jail.
Doctors had given Cox a 17 per cent chance of survival – 70 per cent of her body was burned, with 61 per cent being 3rd degree burns
Lane faces a murder charge, as well as charges of arson, child neglect, kidnapping and domestic battery. He was being held without bail in the Southern Regional Jail