Cops: 81-Year-Old Tried To Burn Girlfriend

An 81-year-old man will undergo a mental evaluation after he allegedly tried to set his 35-year-old girlfriend on fire but instead burned his house down.

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon at the couple’s home on Rockaway Road off Elders Mill Road.

Officials said Irvin Riley “IR” Smallwood, 81, doused his girlfriend Barbara Dawn Coker, 35, with gasoline while she was sleeping following an argument, according to the Newnan Times-Herald.

Coker was able to flee the home before being set on fire. The fire gutted the inside of the home.

Smallwood was found by police in woods near his home after the incident, according to the Coweta County Sheriff's Office. He was charged with arson and aggravated assault and will undergo a mental evaluation.

The investigation is continuing.