A man in San Diego is in trouble with the law after his wife died in a fire at their home.
Stephen Coates, who is 62 years old, is said to have crashed his truck into their house on purpose. This happened in the Bay Park area of San Diego on December 29.
According to the police, Stephen’s wife, 61-year-old Monica Coates, called for help around 7:30 in the morning. She said her husband had driven his truck into their home. Neighbors also called, and one person said they heard screaming after the crash.
When the police got there, they couldn’t get anyone to answer the door. They saw smoke and a small fire inside, so they went in to check on the people inside.
Inside the house, they found Monica dead in the bedroom. She had serious burns on her body. Stephen was also in the house, in the bathroom, and he had burns too. He was helped at the scene and then taken to the hospital.
Firefighters came to put out the fire and turn off the power and gas to the house.
Detectives are now investigating the case. They believe Stephen was driving the truck when it crashed and that he started the fire.
It turns out that Monica had a temporary order to keep Stephen away from her.
According to news reports, Monica said in court papers that her husband had become very suspicious and thought she was plotting to kill him. She said she was afraid of him because of this.
She also said that Stephen wanted to check her phone and online accounts to find proof of this plot. He even asked a friend if he should get a shotgun to protect himself.
Monica had left her home but came back after a neighbor called. She said Stephen had set up traps in the house. Officers had to take Stephen away and put him under psychiatric hold.
Monica said she needed protection from the court because she was afraid Stephen still thought she was a threat and might do something dangerous.
Stephen was arrested on December 31 and charged with murder.
The charges against Stephen say that the murder involved arson and was done on purpose with torture.
If he is found guilty, he could be sentenced to death or spend 25 years to life in prison.
If you know anything about this case, please call the police at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
_If you are dealing with domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or visit thehotline.org. The hotline is free, confidential, and available 24/7 in many languages._
