More than $400K Raised for Innocent Woman Set on Fire by Career Criminal
The medical care fundraiser for Bethany MaGee exceeded $458,000 on Friday, less than a month after a stranger lit the 26-year-old on fire.
“We want to express our sincere gratitude,” Bethany’s tight-knit family wrote in an update.
“Whether you are a friend, our family or a stranger, your kindness toward Bethany — through prayers and such profound generosity — has been a daily comfort to us and will help smooth her way forward.”
The young Chicagoan suffered life-threatening burns late on November 17, after a fellow train passenger soaked her in gasoline and lit her on fire. Federal officials charged 50-year-old Lawrence Reed with Bethany’s attack the next morning.
Bethany had been sitting with her back to Reed, court documents allege, when he dumped a plastic bottle full of gasoline on her head. When she fled to the back of the train, her assailant lit the bottle on fire and threw it at her.
The 26-year-old collapsed on the train platform after several failed attempts to extinguish the flames. A good Samaritan came to her aid, smothering the blaze with his jacket. Another reportedly kept Bethany calm while waiting for medics.
“In this season of Thanksgiving, we are so grateful for the chance to celebrate at Bethany’s side,” the MaGees wrote on Bethany’s fundraising page. “Thank you for keeping her and our family in your prayers.”
Bethany, described by her family as “sensitive, caring, intelligent and imaginative,” will spend at least three months in the hospital receiving treatment, The Daily Mail reported. The MaGee family asks for continued time and space to allow Bethany to heal.
The attack bears eerie resemblance to the murder of Iryna Zarutska in October. The 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee was stabbed to death on a train in North Carolina. Both women suffered unprovoked attacks by men with extensive rap sheets.
The man accused of killing Iryna had been arrested 14 times before. Multiple sources confirm Reed had been arrested 72 times before attacking Bethany. He had been convicted of eight felonies, including aggravated arson, and seven misdemeanors.
Reed was charged with aggravated battery in August after hitting a social worker, CBS News Chicago reports. Judge Molina-Gonzalez chose to release Reed with an ankle monitor, despite prosecutors’ objections.
“I can’t keep everybody in jail because the state’s attorney wants me to,” the judge said, per court transcripts obtained by The Daily Mail.
Perhaps not. But what if the offender routinely assaults other citizens?
The conditions of Reed’s release included a curfew. He violated it to travel on the train where he attacked Bethany.
Proverbs 31:8-9 commands Christians to “judge righteously” and defend the rights of all people. The justice system in Chicago prioritized Reed’s comfort and rehabilitation over the physical safety of everyone around him.
Americans opened their wallets to help Bethany and other victims of preventable crime. But how many more must be killed or injured for leaders and justices to start prioritizing the rights of all Americans, equally?
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