The Debrecen Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Appeal has requested a harsher sentence for a man who threatened, then doused his girlfriend in gasoline and set her on fire.
According to the ruling, the female victim was married, but despite this, she began a relationship with the defendant in the summer of 2022, something her husband was aware of. The husband repeatedly asked his wife either to end the affair or to divorce him, but the woman remained attached to both men.
On the afternoon of October 11, 2022, the victim visited the defendant at his home, where the man again tried to persuade her to leave her husband and start a life together with him. The woman consistently refused and eventually went home. Shortly afterward, the defendant spotted her walking on the street, ran toward her, grabbed her, and dragged her into his house while threatening to set her on fire if she did not choose him.
He then held a large knife to the woman’s neck while continuously threatening to kill her. Eventually, he poured gasoline on her and ignited her clothing with a lighter, causing it to burst into flames immediately.
The woman managed to escape the house, tore the burning clothes off herself, and placed her arms into a barrel of water in the yard. The defendant then gave her a T-shirt and threatened her again. The woman fled to an acquaintance’s home, where the police and ambulance services were notified. She suffered first- to third-degree burns covering approximately 25 percent of her body.
The Debrecen Regional Court sentenced the defendant to 11 years in prison and 10 years of disqualification from public affairs for attempted murder committed with particular cruelty, as well as for armed violation of personal liberty. He is not eligible for parole.
The prosecution appealed for a harsher sentence, while the defense primarily sought acquittal and alternatively requested that the verdict be overturned.
The Debrecen Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Appeal upheld the prosecution’s request for a stricter sentence. According to its position, the punishment — only one year above the statutory minimum and far below the average sentence of 17.5 years — is unjustifiably lenient. Therefore, it requested that the appellate court impose a substantially harsher penalty on the defendant.
The case will be decided at the second instance by the Debrecen Court of Appeal.
(ugyeszseg.hu)
Picture: illustration.
