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A savage firebug doused his girlfriend in accelerant and set her ablaze inside a Brooklyn apartment Saturday evening – as the couple’s young daughter watched from feet away, prosecutors alleged.
A bandaged Kenneth Rickenbacker, 44, was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Monday for the alleged weekend assault against his 38-year-old girlfriend, according to police and a criminal complaint.
Rickenbacker’s alleged fiery terror began inside a Kingsborough Houses apartment in Crown Heights on Oct. 24 just after 5 p.m., cops said.
The dad first threatened his 11-year-old daughter with a knife before he committed his brutal blazing assault on his girlfriend, according to court documents.
Rickenbacker horrifically set his girlfriend on fire, then fled the apartment, prosecutors said.
First responders rushed to the scene not long after the alleged attack, and were greeted by an apartment door billowing with smoke – and a voice crying out in pain near a torched mattress, amNewYork reported.
The victim was rushed to Weill Cornell Hospital Burn Center, where she is in a medically induced coma.
Rickenbacker reportedly told cops it was a bizarre accident that set his girlfriend ablaze after he pushed her when she tried to attack him while he stopped by to pick his daughter up, according to the outlet.
Rickenbacker claimed his girlfriend already had rubbing alcohol on her hands, and when he shoved her, she caught on fire from a lit cigarette, the publication reported.
The alleged arsonist was arrested after he attempted to report the fire to police in Queens, but was instead taken into custody, sources told the local outlet.
The alleged firestarter was hit with a slew of charges including attempted murder, arson, assault, and acting in a manner injurious to a child younger than 17.
Rickenbacker appeared with nearly his whole head wrapped in bandages at his arraignment on Monday, which his lawyer said were from burns.
He was remanded into custody.