Woman accused of setting boyfriend on fire, dousing flames with urine, has died
Leigh Ann Sepelyak, the former Penn Hills woman accused of setting her boyfriend on fire, then dousing the flames with urine in July, has died of an apparent heroin overdose.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office reported Sepelyak's body was found Monday night in her residence on West 11th Avenue in Tarentum. The medical examiner provided no other information on how she died.
Tarentum Police Chief William Vakulick said evidence found at the scene indicates Sepelyak died of a heroin overdose.
Vakulick said police arrived at the home just before 10 p.m. to find an unidentified man performing CPR on Sepelyak on the floor of a second-story bedroom.
Officers saw heroin packets labeled “Redrum,” “OJ Simpson,” “Money Bags,” and “Tuna,” as well as a needle and other drug paraphernalia, Vakulick said.
A cause of death will be determined after pending autopsy and toxicology tests are completed.
Sepelyak had been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, arson and related charges stemming from the July 8 incident at a house on Lime Hollow Road in Penn Hills.
According to police, Sepelyak, 39, and her boyfriend, Grady Spencer III, 31, had an argument at the home they shared with her family. She poured gasoline on his lower body and used a match to set him aflame. She then allegedly doused the flames using a bucket containing urine.
Sepelyak told the Tribune-Review last month she was innocent — a contention backed by Spencer. Both said he accidentally set himself on fire after spilling gasoline on his legs and she used a nearby bucket of urine to extinguish the flames.
“I put the fire out, I saved his life,” she said. “They (the police) won't listen to me — it's frustrating.”
Sepelyak was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, arson and related charges. She had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing Monday before Penn Hills District Justice Anthony Deluca Jr., but it was rescheduled until September. She had been free on bond.
A message left for her attorney, R. Blaine Jones II, was not immediately returned.
Spencer, who professed his love for Sepelyak and blamed himself for the fire, could not be reached for comment early Tuesday.
Jeff Domenick is a content producer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-871-2324, jdomenick@tribweb.com or on Twitter at @jeff_domenick. Reporter Chuck Beidka contributed to this report.
