Azle Man Arrested for Setting Woman on Fire June 2, 2014.

JUNE 2, 2014.

PRESS RELEASE

Parker County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division arrested an Azle man, who investigators believe severely injured a woman by setting her on fire.

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said the incident occurred Sunday, June 1, 2014, just before 7 p.m., when medical staff reported a 37-year-old female was brought into Harris Southwest Hospital in Azle with burns covering more than 30-percent of her body.

Hospital staff also reported that a man, believed to be a neighbor of the victim, brought her into the emergency room, stating she told him Mark Morgan Upchurch had set her on fire and that the incident was not an accident. The neighbor told deputies he first saw the victim running down the driveway, screaming, “Mark set me on fire!”

The neighbor told deputies he observed her skin peeling off and immediately drove her to the hospital for medical treatment.

Deputies spoke with the neighbor, who told them of the incident, while hospital staff tended to the victim who suffered possible life-threatening burn injuries. She was transferred to a Dallas hospital by air ambulance.

When deputies arrived on scene in the 1500 block of Riverbend Street, in Azle, Upchurch began walking toward deputies, yelling aggressively. Deputies immediately took Upchurch into custody due to the nature of the assault. Upchurch questioned why the deputies were present, stating, “I think I know why y’all are here – because what I did to my girlfriend when I lost my mind.”

Deputies observed a 2005 black Saturn sedan in the driveway of the residence, to be dripping with water and the rear seat interior was charred from flames.

Sheriff’s deputies also observed freshly burned locations in the yard of the home and seized two empty gasoline cans and a propane torch from the residence.

Upchurch was charged with aggravated assault causes serious bodily injury. He also had multiple warrants out of Arlington, Grand Prairie and Burleson Police Departments.

As of Monday morning, Upchurch remained incarcerated at the Parker County Jail. His bond had not been set.

The victim remains in an induced coma and is believed to be in critical condition with first and second-degree burns on her legs, back, abdomen, forearms, buttocks and genital area.

The Sheriff’s Office is not releasing the name of the victim at this time. The case is an ongoing investigatigation.