Boyfriend of woman killed in fire says he warned her before leaving: ‘Don’t burn down the house’

Months after his girlfriend was killed in a house fire, her boyfriend spoke to ABC-7 about the moments leading up to the deadly blaze, including his warning not to burn down the house.

On June 13, Shannon Tharp, 47, was killed after a house on the 300 block of Armstrong road caught fire while she was inside. Officials say Tharp was found dead on a bed inside the home.

Tharp’s boyfriend, Michael Holden, told ABC-7 he put Tharp to bed and told her not to burn the house down. Holden said Tharp was on medication.

“She lit a cigarette and she was laying in the bed. She was groggy,” said Holden, who owned the home.

Holden said he went to a friend’s house down the street for about 30 minutes. When he was leaving, he realized his house on fire.

“It burned from my bedroom past my kitchen. I lost everything. I couldn’t salvage nothing out of the house,” Holden said.

The ABC-7 I-Team obtained Tharp’s autopsy report which said she died of “thermal injuries and inhalation of products of combustion.”

Holden said Tharp was living with him at the time and she was, “very giving, she liked everybody.”