Woman Killed Fiancé by Pouring Gasoline on Him and Starting Fire, Gets 60 Years in Prison

An Alaska woman was sentenced Monday to 60 years in prison for murdering her fiancé in 2012 by pouring gasoline on him as he slept and then setting him on fire.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton said that the homicide of Michael Gonzalez “represents as horrific an offense as I’ve ever dealt with.”

A statement from the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office confirms 32-year-old Gina Virgilio was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Virgilio previously pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree murder. She entered her plea on the morning her trial was scheduled to begin back in April.

At her sentencing hearing, the state presented evidence that showed first responders were summoned to a building fire in the early morning hours of June 8, 2012.

According to the statement, the apartment was leased to Gonzales and Virgilio. After the fire was extinguished, firefighters found Gonzalez, 24.

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In their efforts to locate her, police contacted Virgilio’s mother, learning that Virgilio was with her. Virgilio initially told officers Gonzales started the fire.

“Later, however, Gina confessed to her mother that she had gone to a gas station and obtained gas and walked back to the apartment where Mr. Gonzales was asleep on the couch,” reads the statement.

“Gina then poured gas on and around the couch. Gina told her mother she was at the front door when she lit some paper on fire and tossed it into the apartment, igniting the gas. When Mr. Gonzales woke up saying ‘hot hot,’ Gina closed the door to the apartment with Mr. Gonzales still inside and ran from the location.”

Virgilio’s mother contacted authorities and shared that information, and Virgilio was arrested soon after.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, Virgilio said prior to being sentenced, “I hate me for what I did. I can never bring him back.”

Gonzalez’s relatives told the paper Virgilio had a history of drug abuse.