DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (TCD) — A 68-year-old woman has been convicted of fatally setting her 84-year-old husband on fire amid relationship struggles due to their failing business.
The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office announced this week that a jury found Evelyn Henderson guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated arson in connection with the death of her husband, Carmen Henderson. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14.
On June 16, 2022, at approximately 5:23 a.m., Evelyn Henderson called 911 to report that her husband set himself on fire and died. However, according to the district attorney’s office, police and fire personnel determined the victim was relaxing on a chair on the back patio when his wife “snuck up behind him and held an open flame to the back of the chair until it caught fire.”
The flames spread to Carmen Henderson’s clothes, and he reportedly tried to undress as quickly as he could. The fire eventually engulfed him, and he died from thermal burns to his body.
Prosecutors said Evelyn Henderson “stood and watched as her husband burned and called her name for help,” but she failed to call 911 for hours. She reportedly spent the time coming up with a statement to indicate she did not commit the crime.
Evelyn Henderson was booked into the Dauphin County Jail on an initial charge of criminal homicide on June 17, 2022.
According to the district attorney’s office, the motive remains unclear, but investigators learned there were issues in their marriage after they lost their limousine business in 2020.
Evelyn Henderson was reportedly responsible for the business finances but spent a majority of the money on other things, such as spa treatments and timeshares. Prosecutors said Carmen Henderson and his wife “had been arguing about the loss of the business in the hours leading up to the murder.”
According to the district attorney’s office, the victim used to work as a police officer for the Susquehanna Township Police Department, and he later served as the chief deputy sheriff in Dauphin County.
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