Authorities say the victim’s statement at the scene led deputies from a house fire to a search for her boyfriend.
ROSEBORO, N.C. — Firefighters arrived first to a burning home on North Pine Street, but the case shifted when a woman with severe burns told deputies that her boyfriend had forced his way in and set her on fire.
The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office said the woman’s account after the April 11 fire led investigators to Franklin “Frankie” Paul Faircloth, 29, of Roseboro. He now faces charges that include attempted first-degree murder, first-degree arson and first-degree burglary. The case turns on what happened inside the home before crews arrived and on the woman’s report that gasoline was used in the attack.
Deputies and firefighters were called to the home around 10 p.m. for a structure fire and an injured woman. At the scene, responders found the 36-year-old victim burned on her arms, legs, chest and back. Officials said the burns covered about two-thirds of her body. She was taken to a trauma center for treatment. The sheriff’s office said she told deputies that Faircloth had forced entry into her home, doused her with gasoline, lit her on fire and fled on a bicycle.
The information from the scene shaped the early warrants. After consulting with the local prosecutor’s office, the sheriff’s office obtained charges alleging attempted murder, arson, burglary, assault inflicting serious bodily injury and misdemeanor domestic violence. An arrest warrant said Faircloth unlawfully, willfully and maliciously burned an inhabited dwelling while the victim was inside. Another allegation said the fire was set on several parts of her body. Those filings framed the event as both an attack on a person and the burning of an occupied home.
Investigators did not immediately have Faircloth in custody. The sheriff’s office said he had left the area on a bicycle. Deputies searched after the fire and asked the public to be alert. On April 13, a citizen reported seeing someone matching his description near woods behind a residence in the area of Butler Island Road. Deputies responded, searched behind the home and found Faircloth. Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said he was taken into custody without incident and processed on the outstanding warrants.
The charges carry different legal questions. Attempted first-degree murder requires prosecutors to prove an intent to kill and an act toward that killing. First-degree arson focuses on whether an inhabited house was burned. First-degree burglary focuses on unlawful entry into an occupied dwelling. The assault count centers on the serious injuries. The misdemeanor domestic violence charge reflects the reported relationship between Faircloth and the woman. Together, the charges give prosecutors several paths tied to the same alleged course of conduct.
Faircloth appeared in Sampson County court and was denied bond. That ruling kept him in jail after his arrest. A bond denial at this stage is not a conviction, but it affects how the case moves because the defendant remains in custody while lawyers prepare for hearings, discovery and possible indictment steps. Public reports have not confirmed whether Faircloth has entered a plea, retained a lawyer or requested a court-appointed attorney.
The district attorney’s office added a major condition to the case when it said prosecutors would pursue a first-degree murder charge if the woman dies. That statement reflects the legal difference between a surviving victim and a fatal attack. It also means investigators must preserve evidence for the current charges while tracking the victim’s medical outcome. The woman’s family has said her condition is grave, and relatives have described long hospital stays since the fire.
The family’s public comments have been brief and emotional. The woman’s sister wrote that her sister had been doused in gas, set on fire and locked in a building. She also wrote that the family was present when Faircloth was denied bond. “We were in court when her attacker was denied bond,” she said. “That alone has given us so much comfort.” Friends and relatives posted messages asking the woman to keep fighting, while others described how hard it was to imagine what she had endured.
Officials have not released a detailed timeline of the minutes before the fire. They have not said whether there were witnesses inside the home, whether neighbors saw the suspect leave or whether any earlier dispute was reported that night. They have not said whether the home was locked when responders arrived, how the woman got help or whether the fire spread beyond the room where the attack allegedly occurred. The Fire Marshal’s Office has been involved, but a final public report has not been released.
Roseboro is a small town in Sampson County, about 65 miles south of Raleigh. The home on North Pine Street became the center of a case that moved quickly from emergency response to a manhunt, arrest and bond hearing. Local coverage described the scene as chaotic, with neighbors reacting as first responders worked. The sheriff’s office has asked anyone with information to contact investigators, while public filings continue to provide the main record of what deputies allege.
The woman’s name is not being used here because her family requested privacy in the original coverage, although some public reports have identified her. Her age, injuries and relationship to Faircloth have been confirmed in multiple reports. The decision to withhold her name does not change the public nature of the charges, but it recognizes that she remains a hospitalized victim in an active violent crime case.
The case now sits between two systems: the hospital system treating a burn victim and the court system processing felony charges. Faircloth was due back in court May 8. Prosecutors have said the most serious charge could change if the woman does not survive.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.