Georgia Lights Wife on Fire With Cigarette, Doesn’t Seek Medical Care for 2 Days

A Georgia man has been charged with setting his wife on fire and leaving her without treatment for severe burns for two days.

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital called Albany police when the 67-year-old woman arrived wtih burns covering 25 percent of her lower body, police said, according to WALB. She was taken to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta for extensive treatment while police launched an investigation.

They arrived at the woman’s home to question her husband, 64-year-old Henry Hardwick, who told them was rubbing alcohol on his wife’s body to help with pain she was feeling from multiple sclerosis. He said he lit a cigarette close to her body, which caused her to catch fire.

He told investigators he was too scared to call for help, so he left her without treatment until her daughter arrived two days later and saw her condition, police said.

Hardwick has been charged with aggravated assault, and police say that more charges are likely.

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[Featured image: Henry Hardwick/Albany Police Department]