District Attorney: Massachusetts man allegedly douses wife with gasoline, sets her on fire

LOWELL – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Lowell Police Superintendent Kelly Richardson confirmed that Santos Lebron De Los Santo, 42 of Lowell was arraigned today in Lowell District Court on the charge of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury in connection with allegedly setting fire to his wife in their Varnum Avenue residence.

Judge Stacy Fortes ordered the defendant held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for April 12, 2021.

On March 31, at approximately 10:40 p.m. police received a 911 call from a passerby reporting a fire she could see inside a house on Varnum Avenue in Lowell. Officers responded and found the female victim outside with serious burns to most of her body. She was transported to the Lowell General Hospital and subsequently to a Boston area hospital where she is in critical condition.

The preliminary investigation suggests that the victim’s husband allegedly went into the bathroom, where the victim was, with a gas can in one hand and a lighter in the other. While the victim was in the bathtub portion of her shower, he allegedly doused her with gasoline then ignited her on fire.

The investigation is ongoing and being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Lowell Police, Lowell Fire, Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.