(KGO) — The family of a San Francisco woman who was doused in a flammable liquid then set on fire says her boyfriend is responsible for the attack.
The attack happened a little after noon on Sunday at Hollister Avenue near 3rd Street in the city’s Bayview District.
Investigators spent the day focusing on two crime scenes for the attack. Witnesses say the victim was lit on fire, then managed to run a few blocks down the street toward her home. That’s where she was emergency crews picked her up and rushed her to the hospital.
A smoldering sweater in the middle of the street — that’s what 25-year-old Starr Lamare was wearing when her family says Lamare’s boyfriend, 22-year-old Dexter Oliver, doused her with gasoline and then lit her on fire.
“Most of her face is burnt,” said the victim’s sister, Precious Craig. “Just a little bit of hair is still there, but most of her face is burned.”
Craig says this all started with an argument over clothes they were washing at the local laundromat, “My sister wanted to leave her clothes at the laundromat so they could get washed but he didn’t want to leave them there, she said she does it all the time, but he got mad and threw the clothes down.”
At one point the argument got so heated, Oliver allegedly ran all the way home to get some gasoline then ran back toward the laundromat.
Witnesses who called 911 say they heard the commotion in the street then saw the victim on fire. They agreed to talk to us on the condition that we not release their identities because they’re concerned for their safety.
“She took off her shirt and she dropped it off there, and then she was running because she got burnt because of the shirt,” one witness said. “And then the guy, I guess that had burnt her, took her purse and then ran that way.”
Another witness added, “She was basically like running and she was just screaming, yeah because that’s what I heard, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s screaming, let’s go get her.'”
As part of this investigation, police are collecting images from video cameras in the neighborhood.
The victim’s family says she’s in critical condition at St. Francis Hospital. They expect her to recover from this attack.
Lamare’s family also says she’s the mother of three children and had only been dating the suspect for about six months.
San Francisco police are looking for Oliver, who is described as approximately 5’10”, 155 pounds. They say he was last seen wearing a red and white hooded jacket, dark pajama pants with multicolored shamrock print, with gray and red Nike tennis shoes. Oliver also has a design haircut of a fish on one side and a lightning bolt on the other.
Police say Oliver is currently facing attempted murder charges including arson. Anyone who comes into contact with him is asked to contact San Francisco police immediately.
