Man Accused Of Setting Girlfriend On Fire In Broward

A man is facing charges after his girlfriend accused him of setting her on fire in South Florida, Local 10 reported. The incident happened Monday (November 2) around 2 a.m. Broward deputies said they were called to the 4300 block of Northwest 54th Street in North Lauderdale.

“All you heard was ‘knock, knock’ through the wall,” neighbor Jamila Navarrete said, adding that she could hear the victim scream. “She probably could have been banging and trying to open the door, as well." The victim took off down the street after no response, ending up at another neighbor's home.

"The neighbor, identified only as Norma, said the victim was outside her front door, pleading for someone to call the police and saying that she was dying," Local 10 wrote. Authorities found the victim, who told them she had been intentionally set on fire by her boyfriend, Noe Jimenez-Cortes. She was taken to a hospital but authorities said she remains in critical condition.

Jimenez-Cortes was arrested that afternoon, and the incident is being investigated as an attempted murder. According to prosecutors, the suspect purchased a bus ticket to Mexico for Tuesday (November 3).

Investigators claim Jimenez-Cortes poured an accelerant on the victim and lit her on fire with a cigarette. Prosecutors said doctors do not expect the woman to survive.“She was burned on 99% of her body,” a prosecutor told a judge. “The only two places on her body that were not burned were the soles of her feet and one part of her ankle.”

Jimenez-Cortes was charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree arson. He remains in custody without bond.

Photo: Broward Sheriff's Office