Man doused with urine while on fire says arrested girlfriend is innocent
DILLON CARR | Tuesday, July 11, 2017, 1:06 p.m.
The Penn Hills man whose girlfriend, Leigh Ann Sepelyak, is accused of setting him on fire and dousing him with urine on July 8 said days later that she's innocent. But the criminal complaint tells a different story.
Penn Hills police Officer Dennis Robl wrote Sunday that Grady Spencer III couldn't remember what had happened because he was asleep before waking up “engulfed in flames.”
“Spencer stated that he was asleep wearing only boxer shorts and a tank top. Spencer advised that he is a landscaper, and that there are gas-powered tools, as well as gasoline cans in the basement,” Robl wrote, adding that the responding officer noticed Sepelyak's clothes smelled of gasoline at the hospital.
Robl also wrote that Sepelyak, 38, said she and Spencer had an argument earlier in the evening.
“At some point, after Spencer fell asleep, Leigh Ann poured gasoline onto the bed where Spencer was sleeping,” Robl wrote. “(Sepelyak) then lit a cigarette with a match, and threw the match onto the bed, igniting the gasoline.”
Robl wrote that Sepelyak then tried to put out the fire by pouring “buckets of urine” on Spencer and herself.
“Leigh Ann stated that she did not intend to set Spencer on fire. Her intentions were to set herself on fire in an attempt to kill herself. Leigh Ann stated that she wanted to kill herself because her family does not like her,” Robl wrote.
From his bed at UPMC Mercy on Tuesday , Spencer said he was “completely drunk” July 8 when he attempted to fix a weedwacker at the Lime Hollow Road house where he and Sepelyak live. He said he spilled gasoline on his lower body and when he lit a cigarette with a match, he caught on fire.
He said Sepelyak poured urine from a bucket on him to extinguish the flames. He said the basement they rent doesn't have a bathroom so they use the bucket.
“If she didn't use urine, it would have been a lot worse. My crotch would have been melted if she didn't,” Spencer said. “I can only thank her for that.”
Sepelyak's parents, who live on the main floor of the home, took Spencer to UPMC Mercy, and staff there called Penn Hills police. Sepelyak is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, arson and related charges.
The matter is a misunderstanding, Spencer said.
“Leigh Ann has never been in trouble in her life,” he said from his room in the hospital's burn unit. “She is in no way, shape or form a criminal.”
Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton said the police filed the charges based on the information they received — that Sepelyak dumped gasoline on Spencer following an argument and set him on fire.
Burton said he's willing to let the case play out in court.
“If (Spencer) wants to tell his side of the story, he'll have to testify in front of (Penn Hills District Judge Anthony DeLuca) and ultimately (DeLuca) will have to decide,” Burton said.
Spencer, who said he suffered second-degree burns on both legs, said he wants to testify in court.
“We've been together 10 years. She's not violent and would never hurt anybody,” he said. “She didn't do anything to me.”
Sepelyak has been released from the Allegheny County Jail on a $100 bond, and her preliminary hearing before DeLuca is set for Monday.
Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-871-2325,
dcarr@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dillonswriting.
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