Man Pleads Guilty to Setting Father on Fire
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A man pleaded guilty in La Junta to second-degree murder for setting his father on fire at the older man’s birthday party as they argued over whether kerosene was flammable.
Authorities said Thomas Martinez, 38, doused his father with kerosene, set him ablaze with a lighter and said: “You are going to die today.... Happy birthday. You are the candle.”
Ernest Montoya, 58, died several weeks after the 2003 assault.
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