Petersburg man who set boss on fire gets 8 years behind bars

On Friday, Henry Morton, 52, was sentenced to 40 years in prison with Circuit Judge James F. D'Alton Jr. suspending all but 8 of those years. Morton had already pleaded guilty to two counts of malicious wounding.

On the morning of November 17, 2009, Cristy Wright, 35, arrived at the Petersburg East Complex at 110 Croatan Drive, where she worked as the manager. As soon as she exited her   vehicle, Morton ran up to her, threw a cup of gasoline in her face and set her ablaze.

As the flames enveloped her upper body, Morton beat her with a metal pipe before fleeing the scene.

Several parents and children at a nearby school bus stop heard Wrights screams and came to help.

Prosecutor Ken Blaylock described the scene, saying: “People just rushed right up to her, running with coats and everything trying to put her out. She was lucky that there were a lot of people around.”

Witnesses told police they saw Morton board a Petersburg Area Transit bus, and a special alert was issued to all city bus drivers.

Within minutes, a bus driver reported a passenger who fitted Morton's description and police quickly arrested him.

Morton told the arresting officers that he “just snapped.”

The day before the attack, Morton had been fired from his job as a maintenance worker at the Petersburg East Complex.

Morton’s lawyer, Petersburg public defender John Cobb, said: “He felt that she was somewhat responsible for losing his job. He kind of felt like she didn't like him from the very beginning, and that it was her mission to get him fired.”

His victim, recovered from the blow to her head, but she suffered permanent burn to her forehead from the flames.

 

 

 

 

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