A 21-year-old Clayton County woman took the stand Tuesday to testify against her former boyfriend, who is charged with setting her on fire.
Orville Brooks of College Park is accused of dousing Tara Best with gasoline and setting her on fire at their apartment last January. As testimony began in his trial Tuesday, Best told the court that she thought she was going to die, according to Channel 2 Action News.
“He lit the match and threw it on me,” Best said.
Best said Brooks was abusive and jealous and became angry after she came home late from work, according to Channel 2. That's when he began beating her and then placed her in the bathtub of their apartment, she testified. She said she then noticed him with a gas can.
“I can just remember him pouring it on me and saying stuff, and I'm just pleading with him not to do it,” Best said. Seventy percent of her body was burned and she spent three months on life support.
Brooks, 30, disputes her account of events. His lawyer said he didn’t douse her with gasoline.
“Orville Brooks lit a lighter that caused an explosion that caused Ms. Best to be burned,” defense attorney Rand Csehy said, interrupting her testimony, according to Channel 2.
Best said she ran out of the apartment screaming for help.
“I remember some neighbors coming up to me and asking me what happened,” Best said. “And I remember saying, ‘My momma told me to leave him.’”
Brooks could have accepted a plea deal where he would serve 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.
About the Author
