Woman Tanned and Set on Fire by Ex-Husband: ‘I Burned Like a Candle’

Oksana Kuzmenko, 40, from Yekaterinburg, Russia, was severely hurt when she ended her relationship with Oleg Shchegolykhin, 33. She is scarred for life.

The man pinned her to an empty piece of wood and poured gasoline over her. Then he set her on fire. She told the court: the sun“He took off my shoe. He took my left leg and hammered a nail into it. And in my right leg he twisted a sharp object, like a key.”

“He said he was going to kill me. He took out a cigarette and a lighter and poured gasoline into it. It burned like a candle. He put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, but not before he puffed on his cigarette and lit it. He saw me and it was on fire.”

By that time, the victim had already suffered terrible burns to her arms, neck, face, upper respiratory tract and buttocks.

cause an accident intentionally

Shegolekhin then pushed his victim into his car, possibly with the intention of killing her and burying her in the woods. The woman managed to crash the car into another vehicle. This may have saved her life. The man fled after the accident but was caught by police later that evening.

Fighting for Russia

The perpetrator was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in a strict regime concentration camp. However, he hopes to avoid punishment through an arrangement whereby he can obtain amnesty by fighting on the front in Ukraine for six months.