Woman ‘sets herself on fire’ moments before she is arrested by police for killing her husband during domestic violence incident last year
- Janet Alexander, 69, is in a Houston hospital being treated for burns
- Alexander set herself and her home on fire while police tried to arrest her on Friday
- She is suspected of stabbing her husband to death in their home last year
- Police said Janet Alexander may have killed husband in self-defense
- Authorities said numerous domestic violence calls came from couple’s home
A booking photo taken of Janet Alexander, 69, in 2015 was released on Friday by the Houston Police Department
A Houston woman set herself on fire on Friday while police were about to arrest her for allegedly killing her husband last year.
Janet Alexander, 69, is recovering in a local hospital after she used gasoline to set herself and her house on fire as law enforcement officials were about to serve her a murder warrant.
Video footage taken by a KHOU-TV helicopter shows one side of the home charred as a result of the fire.
The windows were also busted out as firefighters quickly rushed into the home and extinguished the blaze.
Alexander’s condition is not known.
Alexander’s home is the same one in which her 64-year-old husband, Lionel Alexander, was found stabbed to death on April 27 of last year.
Police said that Janet Alexander called the couple’s daughter and asked her to come to the home.
Police said Janet Alexander set herself and her home on fire on Friday while officers tried to arrest her
She was taken to a hospital, where she is being treated for burns. The image above shows the damage caused by the fire at her home
Police surround the same home where Lionel Alexander, 64, was stabbed to death last year
Authorities say that Janet Alexander apparently stabbed her husband in self-defense during a domestic violence incident
When she arrived, she saw her father’s body lying on the floor and dialed 911.
Police said that there have been multiple domestic violence calls made from the same home.
Janet Alexander told police at the time that the couple had been arguing earlier that day and that tensions escalated.
Police said that it appeared Janet Alexander, who had suffered multiple lacerations to her chest, was forced to defend herself, according to KPRC-TV.
She was taken to the hospital at the time for non-life-threatening injuries.
The case was sent to a grand jury, which recommended murder charges against Janet Alexander.
If convicted, she faces between 5 years to life in prison.