Murder charges have been filed in the burning death of Texas child-welfare caseworker Terry Leigh Lee, allegedly at the hands of her new boyfriend.
John Marshall Dodd, 41, is behind bars, accused of pouring gasoline on his girlfriend of just three months during a fight, setting her on fire and then lying to police about it, saying Lee had been burned in a kitchen accident.
More than 90 percent of Lee's body was scorched in the attack late Saturday night at her home in Conroe, Texas, near Houston. The 44-year-old caseworker of Child Protective Services died Sunday night of her injuries at an area hospital.
Neighbors said they called 911 after Dodd ran to their home, saying there had been an explosion.
Conroe Police Sgt. Mike Tindall said investigators believe the couple arrived at Lee's home after a night out. During a quarrel, Dodd grabbed a can of gas, doused Lee and set her on fire, Tindall said.
"Apparently they had been out for the evening, gotten home and then got into an argument that escalated into a physical confrontation," Tindall told The Houston Chronicle. "At some point the suspect went into the garage and got a can of gasoline and set her on fire."
Tindall told the paper that there was little fire damage to Lee's house.
Lee had been a Montgomery County caseworker and was a past winner of the Texas CPS caseworker of the year award. She has a teenage daughter, the Chronicle reported.
Dodd is in the Montgomery County Jail on $250,000 bail.
Public records show that Dodd has a past criminal record, according to the Chronicle.
Dodd is no stranger to prison, having spent time there for attempted sexual assault during a burglary, according to the newspaper.
Dodd was sentenced to five years in jail in 1993, though he was freed on parole in 1995, the Chronicle reported. No further details on that case were immediately available, but public records also indicate that Dodd has been arrested numerous times over the years on theft, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and other charges.
Lee was visited throughout the day Sunday by family, friends, co-workers and associates who came to her bedside at Memorial Hermann Hospital-The Medical Center, the Chronicle reported.
The woman's sister, Margo Duke, told the paper that Lee had been "a champion for children. ... She was auntie to so many children. ... She helped everyone."
Duke, 45, told the Chronicle she'd never met Dodd but knew that her sister had been seeing him for about three months and that he worked at a fitness center.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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