A Georgia man was arrested after he allegedly killed his ex-wife’s divorce attorney and lighting his office building on fire shortly after.
RELATED STORIES: Cynthia Bailey Claims Ex-Husband Mike Hill Cheated In Divorce Documents; He Denies Accusation By Insisting There Was An “Error”
The incident took place in Lawrenceville when Allen Tayeh was approached by authorities after he was seen wallking away from the scene with burn wounds. According to 11 Alive, officials responded to a call about a fire on Stone Mountain Street aroun 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. After the fire was put out, officers found the body of Douglas Lewis inside the building.
Officials later identified that Lewis was the attorney of Tayeh’s ex-wife and said they found a gun on Tayeh during the arrest. Although it is unclear about Lewis’ cause of death since his body was burned and Tayeh reported set his office on fire with a can of gasoline. Lewis’ colleagues also told investigators that they were scared for him based on his interactions with Tayeh before his death.
RELATED STORIES; WATCH: T.J. Holmes And Amy Robach Unfazed By Affair Rumors While Co-Hosting ‘GMA3’ — Amy Reportedly Finalizing Her Divorce To Husband Andrew Shue
A motive has yet to be determined but court records showed that Tayeh’s divorce case was scheduled for next Wednesday. One of Lewis’ colleague, Attorney Phil McCurdy, said he treated everyone in the office with respect and was known to have a great sense of humor. He was married with three children and practiced law for 30 years.
“Rarely did a day pass that he didn’t mention them or how proud he was of them. Doug was a joy to be around; he was the standard that all lawyers, including me, aspired to be. His absence was felt the moment he left us and the legal profession will never be the same without him,” said close friend Jesse Kent. Tayeh was arested and charged with malice murder and arson.
Social media reacts to the lawyer’s tragic passing
In reaction to the case, Twitter users noted why it is often dangerous for people to pursue family law as a career due to some unfortunate consquences.
See what I said? Family law is dangerous. https://t.co/1uVUcnhcVt
— Dear Ashley… (@asj519) December 8, 2022
Reason 368 to not go into family law… https://t.co/3rqokqs29a
— Dee W (@detectivedeedee) December 9, 2022
Gotta keep my damn head on a swivel https://t.co/u02m74G18r
— Maniac! (@EsquireManiacal) December 9, 2022
A similar case happened in 2018 when a man shot and killed his ex-wife’s attorney in a murder-suicide hours after the divorce was finalized.
In June 2018, Walter Samuel Radford shot and killed his ex-wife’s attorney, Antonio Mari, in his law office. Mari represented Cindy Radford in court and finalized the divorce on the same day. Officers said Walter was found dead in her home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and Cindy said her husband confessed to the shooting.
Another lawuer, Tony Perrotta, told police that Mari was reportedly afraid of his client’s husband and he had kept a gun in his office as self-defense. He said family law can be very intense due to the emotions that take place during the cases.
“I think emotions run very high in family law. I think we have all been threatened or felt threatened at one time or another,” he explained to the Daily Report.