NORFOLK, MA (WHDH) – A man was arrested Wednesday after police said he tried to kill his ex-wife and then set her house on fire in Norfolk.
Police said they received a 911 call around 4 p.m. from a woman who said she was locked in her bathroom because her ex-husband was trying to kill her with an ax.
Less than two minutes later, police said they received another 911 from the woman, screaming that her ex-husband set her house on fire and said he was going to kill her.
“My house is on fire! I’m outside. I’m afraid he’s gonna kill me,” the woman said in the 911 call.
Responding officers said they found the suspect, 71-year-old Allen Stotts, in the driveway holding an ax. He allegedly admitted to police he tried to kill his ex-wife with the ax but missed, so he set the house on fire.
Police said Stotts confessed to pouring gasoline on the living room floor and then lighting it with a cigarette.
According to court paperwork, Stotts repeatedly told police officers that he had “nothing to lose.”
“Something kept telling me that this is the only way to get back at her,” Stotts allegedly told officers.
The couple is said to be going through a divorce and Stotts was staying at the home through the end of January.
The woman was not injured and is now staying with family.
Stotts was charged with attempted homicide, arson, intimidation of a witness, assault with a dangerous weapon on an elderly victim and malicious destruction.
He is slated to appear in court Thursday afternoon.
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