Susanne Tomlinson’s home following a deadly fire set by Michael E. Sloan Jr. (screengrab via KSDK). Inset: Michael E. Sloan Jr. (Madison County (Ill.) State’s Attorney’s Office)
An Illinois man pleaded guilty on Monday to setting fire to the home of his then-girlfriend’s mother, Susanne Tomlinson, 69, killing her — after attempting something similar on his girlfriend.
Michael E. Sloan Jr., 41, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 26 for first-degree murder.
“We intend to seek the full 50-year term,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said. “This was an especially heinous and cruel crime.”
Authorities said that Sloan lived with his girlfriend, Courtney Tomlinson, at a duplex on Wood Thrush Street in the city of Troy, near the Missouri border and around 20 miles northeast of St. Louis. In September 2022, he forced her to “bind herself with zip-ties on her wrists,” then covered her with gasoline while “holding a knife to her throat and stating that he was going to kill her,” according to a press release.
“He grabbed the gas can, opened up my bathroom door and threw it in my face,” Courtney Tomlinson said in an interview with St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK. “I couldn’t see. I was rinsing out my eyes. I have chemical burns on my chest. He had the lighter lit, but he couldn’t throw it on me for some reason. I was doused in gasoline.”
After Sloan allegedly assaulted Courtney Tomlinson, he went to the home of her mother with a can of gasoline, prosecutors said. Courtney Tomlinson was reportedly able to free herself from the restraints and escape to a neighbor’s home.
Prosecutors said that “moments after” police arrived on the scene, a “large fire erupted” at Susanne Tomlinson’s home while she was still inside. Flames and heavy smoke quickly engulfed the residence, hindering first responders’ attempts to get inside, the press release added.
Courtney Tomlinson told KSDK that she witnessed Sloan set the deadly blaze, claiming that he also attempted to light himself on fire.
“He threw gas on [Susanne Tomlinson’s] face. She couldn’t see. I yelled, ‘Are you OK?’ He pushed her. She fell on the floor,” Courtney Tomlinson reportedly told the station. “He set her on fire. He tortured her, and then, he doused himself.”
Firefighters managed to pull Sloan from the blaze. He was transported to a St. Louis-area hospital for treatment, KSDK reported.
An autopsy determined that Susanne’s cause of death was smoke inhalation, the earlier release stated.
Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
