New York City police have arrested the man they believe burned a 73-year-old woman to death by dousing her in gasoline and setting her on fire in the elevator of her Brooklyn, New York, apartment.
Jerome Isaac, 47, is reportedly a disgruntled handyman who was angry over a $2,000 unpaid bill.
He was charged this afternoon with first-degree murder and arson, hours after he turned himself in to police reeking of gasoline.
Police say Isaac waited for Ms Gillespie to return home from shopping. When the elevator door opened, he sprayed her in the face and across her body with gasoline and set her on fire with a Molotov cocktail.
The elderly woman cowered in the corner of the elevator and tried to shield herself, but neighbors say they heard her screams of agony as she burned to death after her alleged killer fled the scene.
The brutal attack semmed to be all over Isaac's unpaid bill after he worked for Ms Gillespie as a handyman, the New York Post reported.
The fatal bill: $2,000, according to police.
Isaac had lived with Ms Gillespie while he worked for her doing odd jobs.
When Ms Gillespie found out Isaac was stealing, she fired him, Rickey Causey, the victim's 52-year-old nephew, told the Post.
'He was doing more stealing than cleaning,' he said.
Isaac left a note on Ms Gillespie's door demanding payment for chores he had done, but the elderly woman didn't want to pay him after she caught him taking things from her, Mr Causey said.
The horrifying attack lasted one minute and was caught on two surveillance cameras at the 203 Underhill Avenue apartment block.
