Tennessee man allegedly lit girlfriend on fire for breaking up with him, police say

A Tennessee man lit his girlfriend on fire after she tried to break up with him, police said. 

Kenneth Upshaw is charged with attempted second-degree murder and is awaiting his first court appearance. 

Memphis police responded to a domestic violence burn victim at Regional Med Hospital on Saturday, according to a police report obtained by Fox News. 

They located a female victim, Rebecca Briggs, who had second-degree burns on her face, neck, chest and arms and was in critical condition. Police said Briggs was difficult to understand because of her facial burns. 

She claimed that her boyfriend, Kenneth Upshaw, had set her on fire. She said that she was standing behind Upshaw’s car earlier that day when she told him she didn’t want to be with him anymore. 

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Upshaw said if he couldn’t be with her, then no one would, Briggs told police. The next thing she knew, she said, she was on fire. She told them it happened so fast that she did not know how it happened. 

Investigators, speaking with the woman’s mother and sister, later determined that Upshaw poured gasoline on her and set her on fire, the police report said. 

Police investigated the home where the alleged incident occurred and found a black 2016 Honda Accord parked in the driveway with the rear end of the vehicle burned. The rear bumper was melted off, and there were ashes on the ground, along with a fire-damaged red gasoline can, police said.

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It wasn’t immediately clear if Upshaw has retained an attorney who could speak on his behalf. No further details were released.