Man Tries to Burn Estranged Wife, but Sets Fire to Self

Updates from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office have been made to this story since it was originally published.

Around 7 a.m., Amy Jo Akert heard the screams.

"I'm gonna kill you!" she heard someone say from across Orange Grove Drive in Countrywood Apartments.

Outside, she saw a man burst in flames.

"I was thinking, 'Oh my gosh, how did he just start on fire?'" she said, standing outside the door of her apartment. "It was crazy."

The fire stemmed from a domestic dispute at 12401 Orange Grove Drive, unit 114, between an estranged husband and wife, said Larry McKinnon, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

According to McKinnon, Matthew Wong, 50, of 31512 Cross Creek Circle in Wesley Chapel, rented a Toyota Corolla that he drove to the apartment home of Gloria Davis. He waited for Davis, 47, to come out to the parking lot and head to work, McKinnon said.

"She comes out to to go to work, and he chases her with a bleach bottle with gasoline in it," he said.

Wong splashes himself while chasing a screaming Davis. Neighbors hear her, and someone allows her to take refuge in their apartment, McKinnon said.

When Davis disappears, Wong decides to set the unit on fire where she was hiding, McKinnon said, burning bushes and the entrance of the apartment building.

That's when he set himself on fire, his body wet from the gasoline that he splashed on himself while chasing Davis, McKinnon said.

He fell to the ground burning when neighbors came out with a fire extinguisher and blankets, McKinnon said.

Wong was taken to Tampa General Hospital, and is listed in critical condition, McKinnon said. Davis was not injured, he said.

The couple had been married 25 years, and have been estranged since October. They have two adult children, McKinnon said.

Detectives who searched Wong's rental car in the parking lot found black garbage bags taped to the back side windows, and a blanket taped to the back window, McKinnon said. Wong also had a two and a half gallon gas can, gloves and a roll of tape inside the car, McKinnon said.

The investigation is ongoing.