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Homeless NYC man sets wife on fire with blowtorch, attempts to burn ex-boss, report says

Carlos Diaz, a homeless New York man, is accused of setting his wife on fire and later, attempting to burn his former boss January 16, 2013. CBS, file photo

(CBS) INWOOD, N.Y. - Carlos Diaz, a homeless man in New York City, is accused of first setting his wife on fire, and then attempting to burn his former boss at an upper Manhattan garage Wednesday, police and court sources say, according to The New York Daily News.

The 35-year-old Diaz allegedly hit his estranged wife over the head with a blowtorch, poured a liquid accelerant in her hair and lit her on fire just before 8a.m. Wednesday, a courthouse source said, according to the paper.

A source reportedly told the newspaper the 38-year-old woman suffered second-degree burns all over her body but was in stable condition as of Wednesday night.

After Diaz was done with his wife, he went on to attack his former boss, a 60-year-old man, who recently fired him from his job as a mechanic, the Daily News reports. Diaz allegedly doused the man with gasoline and tried to light him on fire.

Diaz is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on attempted murder in the second degree, two counts of assault and two counts of attempted assault, the newspaper reports.

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