Man charged with setting woman on fire in elevator

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(Reuters) – A 47-year-old man has been charged with murder and arson in the death of a Brooklyn woman who was set on fire in an elevator ambush, police said on Sunday.

The suspect allegedly sprayed Deloris Gillespie, 73, with a flammable liquid on Saturday afternoon when her elevator stopped on the fifth floor of her apartment building, the New York Police Department said in a statement.

The man, who had been waiting when the elevator arrived, then set her on fire and fled. Medical personnel who responded to an emergency call pronounced her dead at the scene.

The attack stemmed from a dispute over money, a police spokesman said.

Surveillance videos recorded the attack, the statement said.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson)

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