Gregory Powell
A man who set his girlfriend on fire last year has been sentenced to life in prison.
Gregory Powell, 58, pled guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the death of his live-in girlfriend, Alice Wells, inside their duplex on October 19th, 2013. The residence was located at 3509 Coleman Ave. near North Highland.
In the midst of an argument, Powell struck his 56-year-old girlfriend in the head, which knocked her unconscious. According to the Shelby County District Attorney General’s office, Powell subsequently retrieved a gas can and doused her with gasoline.
Powell then placed Wells in the bathroom tub, set her on fire and watched her burn. He reportedly extinguished the fire and covered Wells’ body with a bed sheet.
Powell eventually left and drove to 201 Poplar. Noticing two police officers, he alerted them and stated, “I did something bad to my girlfriend. I set her on fire. I think she’s dead.”
According to reports, the officers retrieved Powell’s address and had patrol officers stop by the Coleman Avenue residence. Upon entrance of the home, law enforcement discovered Wells’ badly burned body in the rear bathroom.