LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - The Lowell man who killed his wife by setting her on fire in 2021 learned his fate this week.
Santos Lebron De Los Santos, 44, was found guilty of first-degree murder on Monday, with Judge John Pappas sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In March 2021, authorities responded to a report of a fire inside a Varnum Street residence, where they located Celeste Marte Lebron, Santos’ wife, with sustained burns covering ninety percent of her body. She died nearly three weeks later.
Santos had been the only other person at home at the time of the fire.
Forensic investigation showed “that the defendant went inside the bathroom and set his wife on fire while she was in the bathtub by dousing her with gasoline and igniting her with a lighter,” according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.
“After the fire started, the defendant did not call 911 for assistance for his wife,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “In fact, when the neighbor assisted her outside to help, the defendant attempted to grab his burned wife and take her back inside the house before the police arrived. The defendant also attempted to conceal the cause of the fire by taking the gas can that he used outside and putting it in the back of his truck under his tools.”
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the jury had reached the correct verdict.
“After her death, the defendant told several different versions of how the fire started, alternately attempting to pass his actions off as a joke, a scare tactic, or a faulty electrical issue in an attempt to evade accountability,” Ryan said in a statement. “With this verdict, the jury placed responsibility squarely on the defendant for the horror that he inflicted on Ms. Lebron.”
In 2020, District Attorney Marian Ryan launched a dedicated text line to provide victims with direct access to a victim witness advocate via text message. Victims can reach an advocate during regular office hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) via text message at 781-305-0399.
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