A black man suspected of spraying a 73-year-old woman with gasoline and setting her on fire in an elevator has been charged with murder and arson

Jerome Isaac said nothing as he appeared in court with the left side of his face badly burned and peeling. He is being held without bail. His lawyer requested that the 47-year-old African-American be placed in solitary confinement and receive medical attention for his burns. Police say that Isaac is a disgruntled handyman who was so angry that Delores Gillespie, a former employer, had failed to pay a $2,000 bill that he killed her. He has been charged with first-degree murder and arson, hours after he turned himself in to police reeking of gasoline with the entire left-side of his face clearly singed by flames. Isaac waited for Gillespie to return to her Brooklyn home from shopping. When the elevator door opened, he sprayed gasoline across her face and body before setting her on fire with a Molotov cocktail, according to police. The elderly woman cowered in the corner of the elevator and tried to shield herself, but neighbours said that they heard her screams of agony as she burned to death while her killer fled the scene. Isaac had lived with Gillespie while he worked for her doing odd jobs. When Gillespie found out that Isaac was stealing from her, she fired him.