MCALESTER – Police say an Oklahoma mom used gasoline in an attempt to get rid of her daughter’s lice. The charges were filed Wednesday for the incident which occurred in January at a home in Haileyville.
25-year-old Shana Suggs (pictured above) allegedly was using gas to treat her 5-year-old’s lice when it caught fire, burning 65% of the child’s body and also burning Suggs. According to police, they aren’t sure whether a cigarette or a water heater caused the blaze which ignited the mother and daughter. Their working theory is that vapors from the water heater may have ignited the spark.
According to the report, Suggs’ live-in boyfriend heard screams while he was playing video games in another room. He ran into the kitchen to find them both on fire. He rolled the young girl on the floor but the flames didn’t go out, the affidavit stated. He then wrapped her in a jacket to extinguish the flames.
The child was taken to a Tulsa burn hospital and then to the Shriner’s Hospital in Texas.
Suggs has been jailed in Pittsburg County charged with child abuse by injury. Her bond was set at $25,000.