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Woman Allegedly Set Ablaze By Boyfriend Grateful For Neighbors Who Called 911

CAMERON PARK (CBS13) — Deputies say a man poured gasoline on his girlfriend and lit her on fire.

Curtis Menezes, 28, was arrested after the Thursday night incident at the couple's Cameron Park home.

The woman survived her injuries after neighbors heard her screams and called 911.

"They were like screams of agony, I guess, pretty terrifying screams," said Nolan. "Based on her screams I could tell something was wrong."

He and his girlfriend were inside their home when the sound of those screams reached through their walls. He stepped outside to see what was wrong.

"The whole entire backyard was on fire," he said. "At that point I kind of opened and listened to see what was happening and I heard a lady screaming the guy tried to set her on fire. At that point I called the cops."

That call brought paramedics and deputies to the home.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Department says Menezes poured gasoline and on his girlfriend and set her on fire.

"It kind of makes you wonder what possessed him to do it in the first place? How could anybody be so angry? Feel that way?" one neighbor said.

The woman was treated for serious burns. Neighbors say she has been released by the hospital and has home by to move out, saying she's grateful for whoever called 911.

Nolan says he never actually saw the victim, but he says he did see her boyfriend. When he asked what was wrong, the boyfriend told him he was just having a campfire in his backyard.

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