Officials: Man set himself on fire over marital trouble

By Anthony Cormier


Published: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 2:48 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 3:00 p.m.
SARASOTA — A 37-year-old man set himself on fire because his wife asked for a divorce, according to police reports.

Gunnar Preiksch, of Gary Road, is in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital with burns on 90 percent of his body.

He doused himself with gasoline outside his home Tuesday night and exploded in flames.

Neighbors saw the explosion and ran to help him, throwing dirt and using a garden hose to put out the flames. Preiksch, according to a police report, begged the neighbors to let him die.

Officers say Preiksch and his wife were having marital and financial problems, and the woman told him she wanted a divorce on Tuesday. He left and, when he came home, was locked out, police say.

He tried to speak with his wife through a window before he attempted to kill himself, according to a report.

Well i don't know the whole story about this but the way is see things here, is that they both need some help in the head. there are much better ways to get a divorce going, and that is not one of them, besides he really loved that woman to do what he done to himself she must have more problems than him.

That would hurt like heck.

Thats gonna leave some scars.Inside and out.