A woman who set her boyfriend on fire has been arrested by Pittsburgh Police and is facing several charges including criminal attempt, aggravated assault, aggravated arson, and reckless endangerment.

On Sunday evening, dispatchers received several calls of reports of a man on fire. The suspect was Cecilia Perez, 47, of Carrick.

A fellow resident in the apartment building, Eugene Shealey, heard the whole incident. He recounted hearing the two arguing and then called the police when the screaming and banging became louder.

“When I heard him screaming, it put chills down on my back,” and I said, “Let me get me some help,” Shealey said.

Once the officers arrived at the scene, Perez tried to deflect what happened. She told officers that her boyfriend had been drinking all day and cut himself at work. He was smoking a marijuana joint when he was trying to clean the wound with rubbing alcohol, and that set him on fire.

On the way to the hospital, the boyfriend, 43, told law enforcement that this had not happened and Perez had tried to kill him. A witness backed up this claim, telling police she had heard a woman threaten to kill someone in the apartment, followed by banging and clashing.

According to the boyfriend, the two had been drinking that day and started to argue. He tried de-escalating the situation when Perez left the room and returned with isopropyl alcohol. She threw it on him, and he immediately caught on fire. The boyfriend was taken to UPMC Mercy and has suffered first and second-degree burns but is stable.

While doing their investigations, officers learned Perez and her boyfriend had been on and off again since April and had relationship problems, including accusations of infidelity.

Perez stated she, “wanted him to feel the hurt and pain,” he had inflicted on her. In early September, the boyfriend tried to protect himself with an abuse order against Perez but retracted the order, saying he couldn’t do that to Perez.

Law enforcement also discovered suspected crack cocaine and a pipe at the apartment, which Perez will also face possession charges.

Officers took Perez to the Allegheny County Jail, and the judge denied her bail to protect the victim.