Case of boyfriend charged with burning woman goes to jury

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By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Clayton County jury Thursday afternoon got the case of a man accused of dousing his girlfriend with gasoline and setting her on fire.

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Orville Brooks of College Park is charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and arson in the attack against Tara Best at their apartment last January. Seventy percent of the woman’s body was burned, and she spent three months on life support.

Channel 2 Action News covered closing arguments in the case Thursday.

Clayton Assistant District Attorney Mike Thurston said Brooks, 30, used a gas can to saturate his girlfriend, 21-year-old Best, with gasoline and then set her on fire in the couple’s bathroom after a fight.

Defense attorney Rand Csehy contended the fire was an accident, and that Brooks never “doused” the woman, but poured gasoline on himself and his girlfriend. When he flicked a lighter to scare her, gas vapors ignited, the lawyer said.

Brooks could have accepted a plea deal giving him a 50-year sentence with parole eligibility after 30 years, but that offer expired when the jury was seated. If convicted, Brooks now faces a life sentence plus 207 years.