A disgruntled Georgia man is facing manslaughter charges after he fatally shot his ex-wife’s divorce attorney and then set the victim’s attorney on fire, according to reports.
Allen Taye, 65, is accused of shooting and killing veteran divorce attorney Doug Lewis before setting him on fire Wednesday in his Lawrenceville office. According to KENS-TV News.
After the firefighters put out the fire, they found the lawyer’s body inside the building.
Lawrenceville Police Lt. Jake Parker said in an interview about the heinous crime: “It’s brutal. “It’s kind of out of the blue.”
A witness led police to Taye, who was still in the area when officers arrived to arrest him, Parker said.
“The suspect who was apprehended had injuries consistent with being in or near a fire,” Parker said. “He had burns on his pants and his hair.
“He had a firearm, a revolver with cartridges missing in the cylinders,” the police officer added. “And there was also a smell of gas cans and gasoline in the area.”
According to KENS, Lewis represented Taye’s wife when she filed for divorce last year, and the couple will be in court next week.
Taye was charged with murder and arson in the case, but did not give a statement to the police about his motives, the agency reported.
Meanwhile, members of the local legal community mourned Lewis’ death.
“Doug was the perfect gentleman,” local attorney Phil McCurdy told KENS. “I never heard him raise his voice. I have never seen him angry. I have never seen him treat anyone with anything but respect.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t respect him as a colleague, as a professional and as a person,” McCurdy added.
Lewis practiced law in the city, about 30 miles outside of Atlanta, for about 30 years, the station said.
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