The suspect who allegedly set a Virginia city councilman on fire over the summer has admitted to police that an alleged marital affair motivated the attack, according to court testimony on Tuesday.
Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes accused Danville Councilman Lee Vogler of cheating with his ex-wife, a Danville police sergeant testified. The defendant was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding for burning Vogler in late July.
The attack came weeks after Buck-Hayes and his ex-wife filed for divorce. Vogler has two young children with his wife, Blair Vogler.
In her testimony, Blair Vogler said her husband suffered second-degree and third-degree burns on more than 60% of his body. She also revealed that doctors had to surgically graft 35% of his skin onto the body parts that were severely burned.
Lee Vogler also experienced burn shock, septic shock, and damage to his lungs from smoke inhalation, Blair Vogler said in recalling her husband’s injuries.
He is still recovering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Burn Clinic and will likely remain hospitalized for at least six months, Blair Vogler said on GoFundMe in August. In her most recent statement on the fundraising platform, she said Lee Vogler’s latest skin graft surgery “went well.”
On July 30, Buck-Hayes allegedly accosted and chased Lee Vogler until he set the local politician on fire. The incident played out at Lee Vogler’s workplace, Showcase Magazine.
One of the victim’s colleagues, Steven Seiple, testified that he witnessed Buck-Hayes pursue Lee Vogler outside of the building when he was set ablaze.
“I remember Lee screaming, ‘He threw gas on me,'” Seiple told the courtroom. The co-worker added that Lee Vogler’s “chest was very pink, and his arms were really, really bad.”
Andrew Brooks, the editor and publisher of the local magazine, has said Buck-Hayes barged through the locked office door and immediately went straight for Lee Vogler.
MAN WHO SOAKED VIRGINIA COUNCILMAN IN GAS AND SET HIM ON FIRE WANTED TO KILL HIM: POLICE
The Danville police sergeant said Buck-Hayes confessed to purchasing five gallons of gasoline at a gas station. Police previously said the attacker intended to kill Lee Vogler by setting him on fire.
The case will be heard before a grand jury on Oct. 27 after the judge found probable cause that Buck-Hayes had attacked Lee Vogler. The defendant is being held in jail without bail.
