Additional Coverage:
- Man reveals he set Virginia councilman on fire because he was allegedly having ‘an affair with his wife’ (themirror.com)
Danville Man Accused of Setting Council Member on Fire Claims Affair as Motive
Danville, VA – A British man arrested in July for allegedly setting a city council member on fire claimed in court Tuesday that the attack was an act of revenge stemming from an alleged affair between the councilman and his wife.
Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes, 29, is accused of dousing Danville City Council member Lee Vogler, 38, with gasoline inside his office and setting him alight. Authorities stated Buck-Hayes acted with intent to kill. Vogler’s wife, Blair, reported that her husband sustained second- and third-degree burns covering 60% of his body, requiring significant skin grafts, and has been hospitalized since the incident.
During a preliminary hearing, Buck-Hayes asserted that he committed the attempted murder because Vogler “had an affair with his wife.” However, the veracity of this claim has not been confirmed. Buck-Hayes faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding.
According to police, Buck-Hayes, who hails from Devon, England, allegedly confessed to bringing five gallons of gasoline to the Showcase Magazine office specifically to attack Vogler, stating his intention was to murder him.
A Showcase Magazine employee, Stephen Seiple, testified at the hearing, alleging that Buck-Hayes entered the building with a bucket and pursued Vogler before pouring gasoline on him. “The next thing I remember was Lee screaming ‘call 911, he threw gas on me.’
He came running by. He had a burgundy shirt on, I could smell gas,” Seiple recounted.
He then identified Buck-Hayes in the courtroom as the person who followed Vogler with the bucket.
Seiple added, “I called 911, and by the time I got to Lee’s office and they were going out to the street. When I got [out front], his shirt had been burned off. His chest was very pink and his arms were really, really bad.”
Buck-Hayes fled the scene but was apprehended by officers just blocks away after witnesses provided a description of him and his vehicle.
Court records indicate that Buck-Hayes’s wife, Mary Alice, filed for divorce two weeks before the attack.
Blair Vogler has since established a GoFundMe page to cover her husband’s extensive medical expenses, which has raised over $160,000. Last week, she posted an update noting Vogler had undergone another skin graft procedure. “This process is slow, challenging, and sometimes frustrating, but Lee is determined, and we have faith that he will keep pushing forward,” the post read, expressing gratitude for the community’s support.
Buck-Hayes is scheduled to return to court on October 27.