California man gets life in prison for gasoline-fueled fatal fire

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A California man who set a woman on fire in Charleston nearly two years ago will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Carl Magee III was sentenced Friday in Kanawha County Circuit Court following a March conviction on a murder by arson charge.

Rachel Jarrett and David Barrett Sr., who were both homeless, were sleeping on the front porch of a Charleston residence on July 2017 when Magee approached with a can of gasoline. He poured it on and around the pair before setting the fire. Barrett woke up and ran off the porch but Jarrett did not survive the fire.

A security video from a nearby residence caught Magee on tape with the gasoline can and running away from the fire

“It was pretty graphic, but it’s crystal clear as video as you’re ever going to watch,” Kanawha County Prosecutor Chuck Miller told MetroNews following the conviction.

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit sentenced Magee Friday to life in prison with no chance for parole. She denied a motion for a new trial and a motion that the ‘no mercy’ decision by the jury be set aside.

Defense attorney Rick Hollicker told the jury during the trial that Magee didn’t deny he set the fire but he was on synthetic marijuana when it happened.





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