Prosecutors have amended charges against a man accused of dousing his ex-girlfriend with gasoline and setting her on fire.
Kordarro Woodard, 25, of Blytheville, was charged with first-degree murder Monday in Blytheville District Court in the death of Martha George, 37, of Blytheville, said Capt. Scott Adams, commander of the Blytheville Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division.
Woodard was first charged with attempted murder before George died Friday.
Police accuse Woodard of pouring gasoline on George and setting her on fire as she was preparing to take a bath in her East Cherry Street home on June 20. Adams said George jumped into the water-filled bathtub but suffered burns on 80 percent of her body.
She was transported to Regional One Burn Unit in Memphis, where she was listed in critical condition for several days before she died.
Along with the original charge of attempted murder, Woodard was also charged last week with domestic battery and violation of a no-contact order. He is being held in the Mississippi County jail in Luxora in lieu of a $500,000 bond that was set by District Judge Shannon Langston of Blytheville.
After the bond was set, Woodard became combative and had to be restrained by officers, Adams said.
Langston then charged Woodard with contempt of court.
Woodard will be formally arraigned in Mississippi County Circuit Court in Blytheville on July 26.
State Desk on 06/28/2016