Wednesday, January 2, 2008

New murder charges filed against man accused of burning women


The Associated Press

January 2, 2008

Lake Wales

Charges against a man accused of setting two women on fire during a robbery have been upgraded to include two new counts of first-degree murder, police said.

Leon Davis Jr. was charged Monday with murder in the deaths of Yvonne Bustamante and an infant delivered prematurely after the Dec. 13 attack.

Davis, 30, allegedly doused Bustamante and her sister-in-law, Juanita "Jane" Luciano, with gasoline and set them on fire during a robbery of the Nationwide insurance office where the women worked.

Luciano was 5 ½ months pregnant. Her son died a day later, and Bustamante died Dec. 18. Luciano remains in critical condition in an Orlando hospital, officials said.

Lake Wales police have also charged Davis with one count of attempted murder and several counts of arson, armed robbery, kidnapping, grand theft and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Davis also faces two counts of first-degree murder in the unrelated slayings of two gas station employees. The men were changing the price on a sign on Dec. 7 when Davis tried to rob the gas station, according to an arrest affidavit. Autopsy results showed that both men were shot execution-style.

Davis is being held without bond at the Polk County Jail. Jail records do not indicate whether he has an attorney.

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