Man Found Guilty For Dousing Female Victim with Gasoline and Setting her on Fire
September 13, 2023
Keitrick Maurice Stevenson, 43, was convicted of Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature by a Richland County jury on Friday, September 8, 2023 for pouring gasoline and setting a female victim on fire. The incident occurred around 8:20 P.M. on March 21, 2022 behind a gas station on N. Main Street. The Honorable Daniel Coble presided over the trial and sentenced Stevenson to 20 years in prison, which is the maximum the charge carries.
Jurors heard testimony that on March 21, 2022, Keitrick Stevenson left his aunt’s home in Blythewood to find the female victim.
He purchased a pitcher and matches from Family Dollar, then continued searching for the victim. After locating her, the defendant purchased gasoline and placed it inside the pitcher and drove back to the victim’s location.
Video surveillance caught Stevenson walking up the street, approaching the victim and immediately dousing her with the gasoline in the pitcher. He then lit several matches as the victim backed away from him. He then threw the last match at her and she was engulfed in flames. She was flown via helicopter to the Joseph Still Burn Center in Augusta, GA where she spent 45 days, mostly in the ICU and had to be intubated for several weeks due to the injuries she suffered.
The Defendant was arrested on April 5, 2022, without incident. He was identified through his credit card purchase, and his DMV photo matched the person seen at the Family Dollar on video surveillance. The Defendant had a 2021 Toyota Camry registered to him that was also observed on video surveillance. After his arrest, he confessed, he said he was just trying to scare her. He was previously convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
The Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, represented by Senior Assistant Solicitor Kathryn Cavanaugh and Assistant Solicitor Paul Walton prosecuted the case. Inv. Scott Morris and Lt. Tamia Jordan of the RCSD led the investigation.