Background: The apartment in Hollywood, Florida, where the incident occurred (WPLG/YouTube). Inset left: Kymesha Tarpley (Broward County Sheriff”s Office). Inset right: Rachel Price (GoFundMe).
A woman in Florida is accused of hurling gasoline on her roommate and setting her ablaze following an argument over a dog.
Kymesha Tarpley, 48, has been charged with attempted murder in the second degree with a weapon, first-degree arson, and second-degree arson, according to Broward County court records. The woman she allegedly attacked, Rachel Price, says she has suffered second- and third-degree burns on her face.
A probable cause affidavit in Tarpley’s case states that on March 15 at about 10:15 p.m., officers with the Hollywood Police Department arrived at an apartment building “in reference to an apartment on fire.” Hollywood is located in southeast Florida, about 20 miles north of Miami.
Tarpley greeted the arriving officer writing the affidavit, and she relayed that she was at home with her “roommate/ex-girlfriend” when Price became upset “due to the fact the arrestee’s small dog was annoying her” in the living room. The two began arguing about the dog, the defendant said.
While they were arguing, they “began struggling with the balcony door,” and the door “inadvertently struck a container which had gasoline in it knocking it over onto the floor,” Tarpley said. She alleged that Price had a lit cigarette and jumped backward, dropping the cigarette, igniting the flame, and covering her in fire.
However, Price’s version of events is vastly different from the defendant’s.
“She tossed gasoline on me,” Price said, per the court document. A GoFundMe set up for her adds that “She was involved in a domestic situation where gasoline was thrown on her and she was set on fire.”
The victim told local independent outlet WPLG that she and Tarpley indeed had an argument, but that afterward, Tarpley left the home and came back with a gas canister. When Price questioned her, the defendant allegedly “tossed the gasoline on me that was in the gas can and threw the lighter on me and set me on fire and watched me burn.”
A fire marshal who lived below the pair reportedly heard Price’s screams, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and ran upstairs to help her.
The affidavit states that Price suffered burns to her face and neck, and she was brought to an area hospital and intubated. She said that, a month later, she’s still in pain every day and “I don’t feel like myself.”
Tarpley was arrested. What was originally an aggravated battery charge was upgraded to attempted murder after Price pressed charges.
The defendant has been arraigned and pleaded not guilty. A calendar call is scheduled in her case for June 18.
