Homicide victim set on fire

Fairfax County Police are investigating a homicide involving a woman on fire this afternoon in the 2900 block of Willston Place in Seven Corners.

Police are talking to a “person of interest” whom they believe might be responsible for the crime.

At a news briefing on Willston Place, Major Ed O’Carroll, head of the FCPD Major Crimes, Cyber and Forensics Bureau, said police responded to an apartment at 2:45 p.m. following a 911 call about a domestic dispute. At the same time, the fire department arrived in response to a fire alarm.

First responders found an adult female on fire and still alive. They provided first aid, but she was pronounced deceased.

“This is a horrific crime. It’s profoundly sad,” O’Carroll said. “Officers did everything they could to save her life but she succumbed to her injuries.”

Police sent out alerts to nearby residents urging them to shelter in place.

Police believe this was “an isolated incident” and that the person responsible for the homicide knew the victim. “It was not a random act of violence.”

Members of the community provided information about a potential suspect. A neighbor also gave officers a photo of someone observed immediately before they heard a woman screaming for help.

That person fled the area, but detectives located him and were talking to him while O’Carroll spoke to the media.

Police had been to the same apartment where the woman was found twice before in response to calls about domestic violence, he said. The FCPD is examining whether those cases are related to the homicide.

“This is an active investigation,” O’Carroll said. “Detectives are working diligently to get all the answers we need to actually close this case.”