'Bernard tried to kill me': Daughter testifies her mother ID'd attacker before she died

A DeLand woman was so badly burned after a man lit her and her car on fire that she asked medical personnel to cut off her lips because they were blocking her breathing, according to trial testimony.

Those were some of the horrible moments suffered by Tracy Adams, 39, who later died from the burns, according to prosecutors. The man accused of setting her on fire, Bernard Thomas, 54, is on trial charged with first-degree murder, first-degree arson of an occupied vehicle and first-degree arson of a dwelling. The murder count is punishable by a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Circuit Judge Leah Case is presiding over the trial before a 14-member jury, including two alternates, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.

Thomas lived in a gazebo behind Adams' house and wanted a romantic relationship with her; however, she did not have the same feelings for him, according to Assistant State Attorney Michael Willard, who is prosecuting the case along with Andrew Urbanak.

Man arrested in fatal arson:Fatally burned DeLand woman said man had thrown gas on her, report reveals

Woman dies:DeLand woman police say was set on fire dies of injuries; suspect sought

Willard said Thomas told Adams that if he couldn't have her, no one could.

Willard said that besides the burn injuries, Adams had been shot in the shoulder. Willard said that Thomas was known to have a small-caliber gun. Adams died of the injuries sustained in the fire, not the gunshot.

After the fire, an investigator found a plastic Gatorade bottle that smelled of gasoline next to the gazebo where Thomas lived, according to trial testimony. The bottle had slight fire damage.

Assistant Public Defender Sara Altes in her opening statement told jurors that what happened to Adams was terrible, but it was not Thomas who had attacked her. Altes, who along with Assistant Public Defender Brian Smith, is representing Thomas, said that investigators did not find Thomas' fingerprints or DNA on the Gatorade bottle. Altes said because Adams' injuries were so severe, she could be mistaken about her perception of who was responsible.

Thomas had been living for about eight months in the gazebo behind Adams' rented house at 208 W. Volusia Ave. in DeLand, according to testimony. He could go in the house to use the kitchen and the restroom.

The attack happened on the evening of Aug. 27, 2017; Adams died 13 days later. The fire started in the front seat of her car and spread to the back seat. The car was parked next to Adams' house and the flames scorched part of the home's roof.

Among the witnesses who testified Tuesday was Adams' son, Jonathan Rolle Jr., 21, who said that Thomas and his mother were never in a relationship.

Rolle testified that on the night his mother was burned, he heard yelling from outside the house and he walked to the front door. At that point, a rectangular glass window on the door shattered as his mother banged on the door. He opened the door and his mother rushed past him.

Rolle testified he could not recognize her mother because of the burns. He described her as “frantic” and “scared.”

Adams’ daughter, Quanasia Adams, 24, also testified and said that at the time of the attack, her mother had started to see a man she had known from high school. Quanasia Adams testified that she was in the shower the night of the attack. She said her mother began banging on the bathroom door and screaming at her to get out.

Quanasia Adams said she saw skin peeling off her mother’s forehead and her arms and that her mother was trying to splash herself with water. She said her mother was yelling to lock the door and call the police.

Quanasia Adams testified her mother said, “’I can’t believe he tried to kill me.‘ And I said 'Who tried to kill you?' She said, ‘Bernard tried to kill me.’”

Matthew Mitchell, a Volusia County paramedic, was one of the medical personnel who responded to the emergency call. Mitchell testified that when he first saw Adams, she was walking toward him with her clothes sticking to her and asking for their help.

“Once I exited the truck, that’s when I noticed her skin on her arms and her legs were melting off,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the flames had discolored the woman's skin so that she looked white; it was only later that he learned she was Black.

Medical personnel began treating her, including placing an oxygen mask on her. But Mitchell said Tracy Adams was trying to say something to them. They lifted the oxygen mask off her so he could hear.

“She asked us to cut her lips off because they were falling in her mouth and blocking her airway,” Mitchell said.

The trial continues Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand man accused of setting woman on fire, killing her, stands trial