Brooklyn man charged with lighting girlfriend on fire for stealing, selling his comic books

March 8, 2023 Robert Abruzzese

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP.

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CYPRESS HILLS — A 28-year-old man has been arraigned on charges of murder, kidnapping, and other offenses for allegedly killing a woman by tying her to a chair and setting her on fire.

The incident occurred in Cypress Hills, where the defendant was reportedly caught on camera purchasing twine, a lighter and lighter fluid from a nearby store just before the attack. The victim was the defendant’s former girlfriend, whom he accused of stealing and selling his comic books.

The defendant, identified as Lashawn Duffie, was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court on an indictment that includes first- and second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and second- and third-degree robbery.

The district attorney called the murder “brutal and completely senseless” and promised justice for the victim and her loved ones. If convicted of the top count, Duffie faces life in prison without parole.

“The brutal and completely senseless murder of an innocent woman, allegedly perpetrated by this defendant, shocks the conscience,” District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “This kind of depraved conduct will not be tolerated in Brooklyn, and we are committed to seeking justice on behalf of the victim and her loved ones.”

The incident allegedly occurred on Nov. 11, 2022, outside an apartment located at Livonia Avenue in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. The victim, Surgery Ramirez, was a 40-year-old woman who had been in a relationship with the defendant, Lashawn Duffie. According to the investigation, Duffie accused Ramirez of stealing and selling his comic books, which led to an argument between the two.

According to the investigation, the defendant left the victim’s apartment, went to the bodega to purchase his murder weapons, and returned to the victim’s apartment after the store purchase where he allegedly assaulted her, tying her to a chair with twine, and poured lighter fluid on her. After he allegedly lit a match and threw it on her, he left her to burn alive.

The victim’s body was found by firefighters, and the medical examiner later determined that she died from severe burns and homicidal violence. The defendant was arrested on Jan. 24, 2023.