Woman charged with attempted murder for setting partner on fire at gas station, charges say

MIDVALE, Utah (ABC4) — A woman is facing multiple felony charges, including attempted murder, after she allegedly lit her intimate partner on fire at a gas station in Midvale.

Ella Giselle Nelson, 23, is charged with attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; aggravated arson, a first-degree felony; obstruction of justice, a first-degree felony; aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony; and criminal mischief with reckless endangerment of human life, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to documents, the Unified Police Department and Unified Fire Authority were sent to a 7-Eleven in Midvale after a fire was reported. When officers arrived, an officer found a man in the middle of the roadway with critical injuries.

Surveillance footage from the gas station showed the victim “running around the parking lot in obvious distress” and a woman fleeing the area toward a nearby hotel. Witnesses told police that they saw Nelson and the male victim arguing; he was in the driver’s seat, and she was in the passenger seat.

According to witnesses, the male victim leaned out of the window to yell at them, and Nelson suddenly poured a liquid on the victim and reached over with “some ignition source.” The witnesses described a blue light before the man was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Nelson got out of the car and fled, “never stopping to render aid or ask for help,” according to documents. Officers located her at the nearby hotel, where she had hidden her clothes behind furniture and changed into a red dress.

During an interview with the male victim, who documents say is still in the hospital burn unit, he told police that he and Nelson were in a relationship. According to the victim, he and Nelson were in an argument while at the gas station when she told him she was “going to set him on fire.”

The victim said that he thought she had doused him with water, but then she set him on fire using the liquid. Due to the fire, the victim has sustained “significant burns” over 20% of his body and is in the hospital recovering.

Nelson is currently being held on a no-bail warrant. She has an initial appearance scheduled on July 11.