Savannah Bailey, 26, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Javaunte Jefferson, 29, had been together for six years and had two daughters together.
But after getting into an argument, Savannah woke up on Valentine’s Day in 2020, to Javaunte pouring gasoline over her and throwing a match on her as he watched her body go up in flames.
Their two young girls, Cerenity, who was four during the incident, and Cemaya, who was one at the time of the attack, watched in horror as their mom ran around the house, engulfed in flames, before their father dumped them in the snow outside and fled the scene, leaving their mother to fight for her life.
Savannah says: ‘He poured it all over my body, then he lit a match and threw it on me.
‘My entire body became engulfed in flames.
‘Howling, I leapt up and ran around the room while Javaunte watched me burn, with a dead look in his eyes.
‘I knew I was going to die.’
‘Soon the girls woke up and saw me on fire too. They were hysterical.
‘I couldn’t believe my babies were going to watch me burn alive.’
To Savannah’s horror, Javaunte picked up both girls, who were only in diapers, and dumped them outside in the freezing snow.
Javaunte came back into the house, blocked the front door with the sofa, then he fled out the back.
Savannah says: ‘Still running around, I felt my skin melting onto the floor.
‘I finally managed to escape out the back then I jumped into the snow and put myself out. It was unbearable.
The man was a monster.
In March 2021, Javaunte Jefferson, now 30, was found guilty of attempted murder and he was sentenced to 50 years.
She concluded; “Please, if you experience any abuse at home, leave before something like this happens to you too.”