POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A 69-year-old man was arrested after setting fire to a Polk County group home he was staying in while five people were inside, according to the sheriff.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd on Friday said Eddie Thomas was on probation and was staying at a group home for sexual offenders and predators.
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Judd said one of the roommates saw Thomas wandering around the home after 3 a.m. on May 15, and when they went back to bed, they heard a sound “like somebody is splashing something.”
“We know now he was splashing accelerant in front of every bedroom down the hallway and tried to create a fire barrier so they could not run out of the house. He set the house on fire. He set the house on fire with five folks in there beside himself,” the sheriff said during a news conference.
Judd detailed Thomas’ criminal history, describing him as “pure evil in the flesh.” He said Thomas was convicted of murdering his wife, violated parole multiple times, and was sentenced to prison for sexual battery on a child.
The sheriff said Thomas drove off after the fire and checked himself into a mental health hospital, where deputies located him.
The people in the home were injured, but all survived.
“Our goal is that he never takes a breath of air outside of prison. But I want to underscore he tried to murder five people that night. After he sexually battered a child between 12 and 16, after he murdered his wife in front of the children, how much meaner and dangerous and evil can you be?” the sheriff said.
Thomas faces attempted first-degree murder and arson charges.
[See the full news conference below]