Michael Sloan Jr: Man zip-tied girlfriend's hands, doused her in gasoline before setting her mom on fire
TROY, ILLINOIS: A 40-year-old man was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated arson, and one count of aggravated unlawful restraint for allegedly drenching his girlfriend with gasoline and starting a fire that took the life of her 69-year-old mother. On Friday, September 23, 2022, Michael Sloan Jr's girlfriend and surviving victim of the fire, Courtney Tomlinson, said that she got into a heated argument with Sloan at her home in the 500 block of Wood Thrush Street in Troy, Illinois, before the incident.
Sloan lived with his girlfriend for two years and both of them reportedly had a troubled relationship. Officers with the Troy Police Department responded to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance at the house on Thursday, September 22, 2022, according to a press release from Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas A Haine. According to reports, before setting the house on fire, Sloan first tried to kill Tomlinson. He ordered her to “bind herself with zip-ties on her wrists” and then covered her with gasoline while “holding a knife to her throat and stating that he was going to kill her.”
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"He grabbed the gas can, opened up my bathroom door, and threw it in my face," she told KSDK. "I couldn't see. I was rinsing out my eyes. I have chemical burns on my chest. He had the lighter lit, but he couldn't throw it on me for some reason. I was doused in gasoline," Tomlinson added.
After the alleged assault on Tomlinson, Sloan went inside her mother Susanne Tomlinson's home carrying a can of gasoline. Courtney escaped to a neighbor’s home after she freed herself from the restraints.
The entire home was engulfed in flames with Sussane still inside when the police arrived. Tomlinson reportedly told the outlet that she witnessed Sloan set the deadly blaze. "He threw gas on her [Susanne] face," Tomlinson said on Friday, September 23. "She couldn't see. I yelled, 'Are you OK?' He pushed her. She fell on the floor." She added, "He set her on fire. He tortured her, and then, he doused himself.”
An autopsy determined that Tomlinson's mother died of smoke inhalation. Firefighters managed to pull Sloan from the blaze and transported him to a St Louis area hospital for treatment where he remained as of Tuesday afternoon, September 27. His bond was set at $1 million.
“This was a senseless act of violence that shook the community,” Haine said in a statement, according to Law & Crime. “Our office extends sympathy to the family as well as the witnesses, police officers, and firefighters who were there as this tragedy unfolded. Thanks to their courage, bravery, and great police work, our office can and will fight for justice for the victims,” he added.