Tanisha Shelton, 45 years old, was arrested last Saturday in the neighborhood of Brownsville, northwest of Miami-Dade, accused of spraying a flammable substance on a 33-year-old man and setting him on fire after an argument.
The attack left the man with burns covering at least 80% of his body and in an extremely critical condition, according to local news.
The victim, identified as Nathaniel Devon Mathis, was found unconscious at the intersection of Northwest 63rd Street and Northwest 25th Avenue at around 6:02 PM on October 24th.
Emergency personnel urgently transported him to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where medical staff determined he had second and third-degree burns over most of his body.
Authorities indicated that survival is not expected.
The discussion prior to the attack
According to the arrest report, Shelton and Mathis had been involved in a heated verbal argument hours before the attack.
During that confrontation, the woman reportedly warned that she would leave and return with someone to attack him.
According to the police report, Shelton returned hours later with a bucket that contained, inside a plastic bag, an accelerant of unknown nature.
Once in front of Mathis, he borrowed a lighter from a witness at the scene, resumed the verbal confrontation, doused the victim with flammable liquid, and set him on fire before trying to flee, according to the police reconstruction.
Key witnesses in the capture
The reaction of those who witnessed the attack was crucial for Shelton's arrest.
One of the witnesses sprayed him with pepper spray to prevent his escape, while others provided the agents with an accurate physical description: he was wearing a brown dress and purple sneakers.
The authorities located her in the vicinity and arrested her without incident, still in the same clothes.
After her arrest, Shelton was transferred to the Homicide Division of the Miami-Dade Police Department, where she invoked her right to legal representation.
On Monday, Shelton appeared before a bail judge, who denied her release, according to a report by Telemundo 51.
He faces charges of first-degree attempted murder and arson resulting in serious bodily injury.
Shelton remains confined at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK).
The authorities indicated that the investigation is still active and did not rule out further arrests.
A neighborhood with abandoned buildings and frequent disputes
The attack occurred in Brownsville, an area historically affected by deteriorated housing and closed public buildings that have been standing for years without demolition.
Neighbors in the area, interviewed by Univision Miami, described an environment where disputes are frequent, partly because homeless individuals use those properties as shelters.
A neighbor identified only as Ana, who preferred not to show her face for fear of retaliation, expressed sorrow over what happened to Mathis, whom she described as a homeless person.
"This is horrible. I feel sorry for the man, even though he is homeless. But you shouldn't do that to anyone," he commented.
Regarding the abandoned buildings in the area, the same neighbor pointed out: "It's been more than three years since they evicted everyone and promised to tear it down and fix it. I don't know, they haven't done anything."
The authorities have not disclosed the exact relationship between Shelton and Mathis, nor the precise reason for the argument that triggered the attack.
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