Surveillance footage captured the moment when a Brazilian model suddenly became engulfed in flames after arguing with her girlfriend.
RELATED STORIES: Student Dies After Being Set On Fire For Reporting Sexual Harassment
According to the New York Post, Katiuscia Silva Mota, 31, was captured on camera arguing with her girlfriend at an apartment building in Serra, Brazil. The pair continued their argument outside and Mota re-enters the building. Several moments later, Mota is covered in flames and her girlfriend along with several others come to her rescue while attempting to put the flames out. Mota suffered from severe burns covering almost half of her body.
Mota’s 21-year-old girlfriend works with perfumes and other flammable cosmetics and explained to police that Mota came in contact with alcohol in their apartment then used a lighter, leading up to the fire. Whether the incident was intentional or not has yet to be determined.
The young woman said, “I tried to separate it, and it ended up falling [alcohol] on it, on me and on the floor. I asked, ‘Are you going to set us on fire?’ When I saw her look, I tried to throw the lighter out, it hit the window and came back. In that, I managed to get it again, I threw it under the fridge and she managed to get the lighter. As soon as she took the lighter, I already opened the door and ran out. In the footage, I was outside talking to her ‘Are you going to do this?’ It was three seconds”
RELATED STORIES: UPDATE: Man, 22, Charged With Murder After Stabbing And Setting Teen On Fire In Bronx Apartment Building
Mota’s mother believes her daughter may have lit a cigarette and wouldn’t do it intentionally because of her career. The investigation is still ongoing.