A Utah man who allegedly set his pregnant girlfriend on fire has been charged with aggravated attempted murder.
Andrew Todd Curtis, 45, of Moab, was charged in 3rd District Court with the first-degree felony. He is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail, and faces a potential prison term of five years to life if convicted.
On the morning of Oct. 22, Murray police received a report that someone had been set on fire at the Studio 6 motel at 975 E. 6600 South. When they arrived, they found a 34-year-old woman who had been badly burned.
The victim and Curtis had traveled together from Idaho Falls, Idaho. According to police, Curtis had reported his car had been stolen by the victim the previous evening, and located the vehicle — with windows broken — nearby.
According to witness, Curtis and the victim were arguing; he had assaulted her the previous evening; and the victim asked other people who were staying with them not to let Curtis back into the room because she feared him and had “an extensive physically abusive relationship” with him. She was pregnant with Curtis' child.
The victim told police she left the room to go outside and smoke a cigarette. According to witnesses, a man they believed to be Curtis “ran up to the victim and threw a cup of clear liquid onto the victim.” He then spit on the victim, lit an object in his hand, set the victim of fire and fled.
According to charging documents, the victim said, “Andrew Todd Curtis did this to me. … The man came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to burn, b----’ and sprayed me with this sh--.”
The victim’s statement was recorded by an officer’s body camera. She was taken to the University of Utah Hospital in critical condition with burns over 70% of her body. There has been no update on her condition since she was attacked.
Curtis was arrested at about 11 a.m. on Oct. 22. According to police, he had changed his clothes but was carrying a bag “that smelled of fuel.” The bag contained the clothes that were covered in accelerant, and Curtis was also in possession of a torch lighter.
In 2011, Curtis pleaded guilty to stabbing a man to death outside a Denny’s restaurant in Moab the previous year. Originally charged with first-degree murder, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of criminal homicide by assault, a third-degree felony. He was released from prison in April.
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