Bronx Man Confesses To Fatally Setting Fire To Homeless Man After Dispute Over Scooter
After his recent arrest, Errol Stephenson, a 28-year-old Bronx man, confessed to intentionally, fatally setting fire to a homeless man after having a dispute over a scooter.
Stephenson was arrested on Saturday (Jan. 30) in Mount Vernon in Westchester County after admitting to NYPD detectives that he dosed the victim, identified as 46-year-old Patrick Winkler, with gasoline and torched him back on September 16. He claims the victim stole his scooter in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. Upon officers’ arrival, they spotted the man on fire and used a fire extinguisher from their vehicle to douse the flames. He was then rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
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At the hospital, officials said Winkler, who was living in a Manhattan shelter, suffered third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. About a month following the attack, the victim died from his injuries sustained on October 19. Subsequently, Stephenson has been charged with second-degree murder and is police custody.
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