Saxis man convicted of setting girlfriend on fire

By Linda Cicoira

They had been drinking for hours when a Wachapreague woman refused to drive her former boyfriend across Accomack County one late afternoon in November of 2022. So, the then 72-year-old man pushed her to the floor of the Saxis home, poured lighter fluid on her leg, and set her on fire.

Anthony (Tony) Page Cutler, of Keith Lane, was convicted Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court of malicious wounding, an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

“I don’t remember doing it,” Cutler testified, despite admitting his guilt to an Accomack deputy and initialing a written statement the next day when he was arrested. He stood in the courtroom wearing an Accomack Jail-issued white jumpsuit. His hair and beard were long with strands of gray and white. Cutler pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The victim, Denise Bradford, testified she had known Cutler since she was 15 and that they had lost track of each other for about five decades. She was living with him in Saxis when the incident occurred.

“He was getting more and more violent,” she said. Before she could get up off the floor that day, he grabbed the lighter fluid and she thought he was coming at her face. Instead, she said, he shot the stream on her leg before setting her on fire. He laughed and threatened to cool it off by pouring a beer on it. She was able to “slap” the drink out of his hand, she said.

“He may look like a frail old man, but he is mean,” she added. Bradford managed to grab their dog and a couple of drinks. She said she didn’t realize how badly she was hurt. “I was in shock,” she figured. She made it up the stairs and locked herself in a bedroom.

The next morning, Bradford called the police. While waiting for someone to arrive, she said Cutler followed her outside and threatened to kill her while he broke windows out of an old camper with his cane.

She said a doctor told her the burns were “worse than third-degree.” She went through months of severe pain, therapy, and treatment and now lives with the aftermath.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney William Fox said, “This was an awful, awful night for her. I can’t imagine the pain … Fortunately, she was able to get away … and she is here with us in good health.”

Before convicting Cutler, Judge Lynwood W. Lewis Jr. said, “There’s no doubt in my mind you did exactly what she told us you did.”

     He remanded Cutler to jail, ordered a long-form presentence report, and set sentencing for Oct. 7.