Story Archive

True Love

Leigh Ann Sepelyak, 38, and her boyfriend, Grady Spencer III, lived in the basement of Sepelyak’s parent’s Penn Hills Township, Pa., home. There is no bathroom in the basement, so for convenience, they say, they urinated in buckets. After an argument, says Officer Dennis Robl of the Penn Hills Police, “Spencer fell asleep, [and] Leigh Ann poured gasoline onto the bed where Spencer was sleeping. She then lit a cigarette with a match, and threw the match onto the bed, igniting the gasoline.” It was 4:40 a.m., and naturally Spencer leapt out of bed screaming in pain, which apparently made Sepelyak feel bad, so she doused the flames with what she had available: the contents of their buckets. “The parents, when they heard screaming and smelled the smoke, helped put him out — I think with the same urine — and went to the hospital,” says Police Chief Howard Burton. Spencer was listed in serious condition with burns on 25-35 percent of his body, and the hospital called in police. Sepelyak was charged with attempted homicide, arson, and recklessly endangering another person, and was released after posting $100 bail. From his hospital bed, Spencer, a landscaper, says he had gasoline on him because he was earlier fixing a weed whacker while “completely drunk” — and the whole thing was an accident. “If she didn’t use [the] urine, it would have been a lot worse,” he said. “My crotch would have been melted if she didn’t. I can only thank her for that.” (RC/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Tribune) ...He’s awfully calm about it: most men would have been pissed off.