NYC woman burned alive by man enraged she’d destroyed his comics, video game device: DA
The man who burned a woman alive in a horrifying Brooklyn murder last year flew off the handle after she destroyed his comic books and video game console, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Lashawn Duffie, 28, was held on bail after the arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court, where he was facing murder and kidnapping charges in the slaying of Surgerys Ramirez.
Prosecutors said the violence began outside Ramirez’s apartment building on Van Siclen Ave. near Fulton St. in Cypress Hills on Nov. 11, when Duffie confronted the victim about ruining his things sometime earlier.
He was also furious with Ramirez, 40, because Duffie believed she “slept around,” prosecutors said. The two previously had a relationship, though the details were not known.
Duffie beat up a friend of Ramirez who was standing with her outside the building and stole $800 from him, prosecutors said.
After the robbery, he made his way to a nearby bodega, where he was caught on camera purchasing twine, lighter fluid and a lighter, they added.
He returned to Ramirez’s building, beat her up, tied her to a chair and poured accelerant on her. He then lit a match and left the woman to burn alive in the apartment.
A witness told police he saw her tied up and Duffie dousing her in lighter fluid, but he inexplicably walked away without trying to stop the crazed man, prosecutors said.
The city Medical Examiner determined Ramirez died of severe burns and homicidal violence.
Duffie’s defense attorney told the court he lives in a shelter and has a child.
He was held on $500,000 cash bail or a $1 million bond, which he did not post.
