A man who lit himself on fire and burned two U.S. Marshals has died at a D.C. jail infirmary, authorities said.
Moustapha El Bechir, 28, was a fugitive in a rape case in December when marshals deputies knocked on the door to his home in Northweast Washington. El Bechir doused himself with a flammable liquid, and as deputies attempted to take him into custody, he lit a fire, causing an explosion that caught a female deputy on fire, authorities said. Her partner helped put out the flames with his bare hands, burning himself, officials said.
El Bechir suffered burns to nearly 80 percent of his body. He died Friday at a D.C. Department of Corrections infirmary. He was accused of raping a woman at a downtown D.C. hotel. Her attorney, Nikki Lotze, said her client had been on a respirator since the incident.
The female deputy suffered second- and third-degree burns to her leg, arm, hand, neck and face and was hospitalized. A marshals office spokesman said Tuesday that both deputies are back at work.
