A BRITISH expat allegedly set a US politician on fire after a desperate bid to save his crumbling marriage collapsed, pals have claimed.
Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes, 29, is accused of dousing Danville City Council member Lee Vogler, 38, with gasoline and setting him alight inside his Virginia office on July 30.
Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes pictured alongside his wife Mary Alice[/caption]
Buck-Hayes sits beside defense attorney Edward Lavado in the General District Courtroom in during a preliminary hearing in Danville, Virginia[/caption]
Friends back in the UK say Buck-Hayes was “desperate to make it work” with wife Mary Alice Hayes after a “roller coaster” marriage that had veered toward divorce.
Longtime friend Cal Darcy told Cardinal News: “They agreed to do couples therapy.
“He loved her to bits and he was desperate to make it work.”
But Mary Alice filed for divorce in mid-July — just two weeks before the shocking attack, according to court documents.
Darcy added Buck-Hayes had been struggling with his mental health and had only just come out of hospital about a month before the attack.
“He wasn’t very well, but he wanted to get himself into hospital because he wanted to improve his health,” Darcy said.
“I feel like if he had the right support, none of this would’ve happened.”
Another friend, Matt Williams, called Buck-Hayes “a genuinely nice person that will do anything for you”.
But he admitted: “He could have just punched him in the face, but at the end of the day, he snapped.”
Ex-girlfriend Taegann Underwood-Petch — who dated Buck-Hayes for six years — said he was “compassionate and smart” but struggled with jealousy and anger.
“We both felt like social misfits,” she said.
“I think he found it hard to cope with jealousy. Especially when people don’t appreciate what they have.”
During a preliminary hearing, a Danville police sergeant testified that Buck-Hayes admitted he bought gasoline with the intent to kill Vogler, claiming the local politician was having an affair with his wife.
Prosecutors cautioned that motive hasn’t been proven.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman said: “Sometimes, someone gives a motive that may or may not end up being the motive.”
Vogler suffered second and third-degree burns to 60 per cent of his body[/caption]
Blair Vogler, the lawmaker’s wife, testified during a preliminary hearing for Shotsie Buck-Hayes on Tuesday[/caption]
A mugshot of Buck-Hayes after he was arrested for allegedly setting councilman Lee Vogler on fire outside his office[/caption]
Authorities insist the attack was not politically driven.
Vogler — first elected to the Danville City Council at just 24 — remains a well-known local figure and was re-elected last November.
Vogler suffered second- and third-degree burns to 60 per cent of his body and remains in critical condition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill burn unit.
His wife Blair told the court he endured burn shock, septic shock and severe lung injuries.
“In order to correct those burns, they had to take an additional 35% of his skin, so there was a time when he was 95% open,” she said.
A judge has sent the case to a grand jury, which will decide on October 27 whether to indict Buck-Hayes.
If convicted, he faces up to life behind bars.
Buck-Hayes remains under psychiatric care at Central State Hospital while his attorney seeks a psychological evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial.
Meanwhile, Vogler continues his recovery after multiple surgeries, as the community rallies behind him through a fundraising campaign.
Buck-Hayes’ friends claim he was desperate to save his marriage before the attack[/caption]
According to court documents, Mary Alice filed for divorce in mid-July[/caption]
