Homeless Woman Lights Gas Station Employee on Fire

On March 30, 2022, Betty Jean McFadden, 31, walked to a friend’s house in Pensacola, Florida, asking to borrow a gas can. Betty and her family had previously lived with the elderly woman, but by that time, she was homeless and living on the streets. Reluctantly, the elderly woman agreed to let her use the gas can, confused as to why she needed it since she did not own a car. 

Betty Jean walked down the street to a Circle K gas station. A friendly customer purchased a few bucks worth of gasoline for Betty.  She walked into the store with the filled gasoline can and calmly stood in line as the woman paid and other customers waited their turn. Betty Jean walked to the counter with customers waiting in line and splashed the gasoline on the employee behind the counter.  The employee, Joie Hellmich screamed as she attempted to run away. Betty Jean lit a match and tossed it at Joie, lighting her on fire.

As Joie frantically screamed and walked through the back of the store, her co-worker heard the chaos and attempted to extinguish the flames, but instead, caught herself on fire.

Customers called 9-1-1 while one man dumped a bucket of dirty mop water on Joie to extinguish the flames. 

Police arrived and rushed Joie to the hospital. She suffered second and third-degree burns to more than 30% of her body.

Meanwhile, customers at the Circle K gas station gave officers a description of Betty. With help from a K9 officer, police began searching for Betty.  The black hoodie she wore was found in a trash can in front of a home down the road.  Betty Jean was found at the elderly woman’s house a few minutes later.

Betty Jean smelled strongly of gasoline as police handcuffed her and hauled her to the police station.  In the interrogation room, Betty Jean admitted that she had committed a crime, but making sense of her words was not easy.

She laughed and joked about what she had done, and told detectives that she had “politely lost my mind” before setting Joie on fire.  

Betty Jean asked detectives if her victim was black and charred, and repeatedly requested to see photos of her victim, saying she wanted to 'see her work.'

Betty Jean asked macabre questions, laughed, and showed little remorse or concern for her victim.

Betty Jean eventually claimed that she walked to Circle K intending to take money from the register but purchased gasoline and set the cashier on fire instead.  She explained that she was addicted to heroin and crack cocaine and needed the cash to fund her habit.

Joie spent 95 days in the hospital and underwent numerous surgeries to treat her injuries. Doctors did not initially expect her to survive, but she miraculously pulled through. When detectives were able to talk to Joie, she explained that shortly before the incident, Betty Jean had been panhandling in front of the gas station, and she asked her to leave the property.

Betty Jean complied and left the store, borrowed the gas can, and returned with a vengeance.

Betty Jean had a lengthy criminal history. She had spent time in prison and had been out less than a year when the incident occurred. One of her prior arrests involved throwing a rock at a gas station employee who asked her to leave the store after she was caught panhandling.

She also suffered from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses severe enough that she required a one-year stay in a local mental hospital before she was deemed competent to stand trial.

In 2024, Betty Jean MacFadden was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Joie now uses her experience to help and empower others.

Watch Betty Jean's interrogation: