Los Angeles

Bail Set at $1 Million For Man Accused of Setting Woman on Fire on Christmas Day

A man accused of soaking a woman in flammable liquid and lighting her on fire on Christmas Day was arrested Sunday and his bail amount was set at $1 million, officials said.

The man, identified by authorities as Clarence Duwell Dear, 51, was taken into custody after Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies and Pasadena police received a tip that the suspect may have boarded a Metro bus in Pasadena.

Dear was found near Foothill Boulevard and Halstead Street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Neighbors told police they saw the 41-year-old victim running from the home in the 1500 block of Cordova Street engulfed in flames before collapsing in the street on Friday.

Dear and the victim, later identified by police as Dawn Hensley, got into an argument that turned into a physical altercation in what may have been a domestic dispute, authorities said.

Police said Dear chased the woman from the home, doused her with gasoline and then lit her on fire.

Neighbors said they stayed with the woman until LA County Fire officials arrived.

She was treated for severe burns and taken to a hospital where she later died.

No further details regarding Dear's arrest were immediately available.

It was not immediately clear if Dear had retained an attorney.

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