A young woman who tried to help her neighbor almost died when she was doused with fuel and set on fire. Kirsten Ashby, 27, saw there was some kind of problem between her neighbor and his girlfriend, and went to try and help. But Raymond Bowen threw petrol over her, then flicked a lighter to set her on fire while he stood smoking a cigarette. She was left with no finger tips, no ears, layers of her skin on her face melted away, and her shoulder-length dark hair burned away. Bowen was jailed for 19 years today for attempted murder after the attack 23 weeks ago. Kristen has been in hospital since the attack, and her parents have spoken out to try and raise money for her treatment and adaptations to help her when she leaves hospital.
Her parents, Lynn and Paul, have taken care of Kirsten’s daughter Maddison, nine, since the attack and visited her in hospital as she has undergone a staggering 80 operations to start rebuilding her face and body. Her parents said today that they were told to expect the worst as she was not expected to survive the horrific ordeal. They described her as a ‘stubborn soul’ and her recovery, much of which had been in isolation due to the risk of contracting an infection, was a slow and painful process.
Metro