Man Charged With Lighting Troy Illinois House On Fire And Killing Lady
TROY – Madison County prosecutors charged a man with murder after a fire that killed 69-year-old Susanne E. Tomlinson on Thursday in Troy.
Michael Sloan was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, aggravated arson and aggravated unlawful restraint on Tuesday.
Sloan threatened to kill Tomlinson’s daughter, who he lived with on Wood Thrush. He ordered her to bind herself with zip-ties on her wrists and then he covered her with gasoline and held a knife to her throat saying he was going to kill her according to court documents.
The daughter managed to free herself and went to a neighbor’s home for help and that’s when Sloan went inside Tomlinson’s house which is just a few houses down and poured gasoline and lit the fire which caused a large fire then erupted. Multiple fire departments were called to the area to help extinguish the flames.
“This was a senseless act of violence that shook the community,” Haine said. “Our office extends sympathy to the family as well as the witnesses, police officers and firefighters who were there as this tragedy unfolded. Thanks to their courage, bravery and great police work, our office can and will fight for justice
for the victims.”
First-degree murder carries a sentence of 20-60 years in prison. Attempted first-degree murder and aggravated arson are punishable by up to 30 years in prison, while aggravated unlawful restraint is punishable by up to five years in prison. Sloan’s bail was set at $1 million by Judge Janet Heflin.
Haine thanked Troy Police, Troy Fire Protection District, Madison County Coroner, Illinois State Police and Illinois State Fire Marshal for their diligent work on the case.
Sloan was pulled out of the house and taken to a hospital.
