Police: 31-year-old sets mother on fire

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
© Copyright 2013 Gwinnett Daily Post

NORCROSS - A 31-year-old woman is behind bars after police said she set her mother on fire in front of the Sterling Brook townhome they share.

The Gwinnett Fire Department responded to 5300 Langston Road after receiving an emergency call of a possible residential fire, said department spokesman Capt. Thomas Rutledge. Norcross police responded to an aggravated domestic call, they said. That's when they found the 51-year-old woman badly burned.

Her daughter, Na Yong Pak, is being charged with aggravated assault. Police aren't releasing the woman's name but said she was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital just after 3 p.m. with "life-threatening injuries," according to Norcross police Capt. Brian Harr. She was listed in critical condition.

"We found the victim in the front yard area of the residence with severe burns, second- and third-degree burns. ... Basically the information we received from various sources is (the suspect) threw some sort of accelerant on the victim and ignited it."

Harr said there is a history of domestic-related issues involving the two.

Several residents came to the woman's aid, Harr said, and police and fire units arrived on scene at about the same time.

Rutledge said fire investigators are assisting Norcross police in the investigation.

Harr said the help is appreciated and called the investigation a "great joint effort."

"The fire department was great and provided us with great assistance," Harr said. "The Gwinnett County Crime Scene Unit and solicitor's office, too. It gives us the extra personnel we desperately need sometimes to help get the investigation going."

It is unclear what led up to the incident. Harr said the investigation is ongoing.

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