Overview
- Prosecutors charged the 23-year-old with first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault in a New York State Supreme Court indictment.
- Court filings allege he poured gasoline from a food cart into a small bottle, waited for the 45-year-old to pass, then ignited the fuel and set him ablaze on March 16.
- The victim suffered second- and third-degree burns over nearly 20% of his body and spent weeks in a medically induced coma.
- Authorities say he fled to Egypt within hours of the attack and was arrested by NYPD at JFK upon his return on November 25.
- Local reporting identifies the victim as club promoter Mark Whyte and locates the cart on West 41st Street near Broadway.