The woman’s relatives described hospital vigils and relief after a judge denied bond for Franklin Faircloth.
ROSEBORO, N.C. — The sister of a badly burned Sampson County woman said her family has spent days moving between court and a trauma center after authorities accused the woman’s boyfriend of setting her on fire inside her home.
The woman, 36, suffered burns across about two-thirds of her body after a fire at her North Pine Street home in Roseboro. Franklin “Frankie” Paul Faircloth, 29, has been charged in the attack. Police and court records say he forced his way into the house, poured gasoline on the woman, set her on fire and fled on a bicycle before deputies arrested him two days later.
The family account came after relatives learned the extent of the woman’s injuries and attended Faircloth’s bond hearing. Her sister wrote on Facebook that someone had tried to kill her sister and said the woman had been doused in gasoline, set on fire and locked in a building. The sister later said the family was in court when Faircloth was denied bond. “We have also experienced such a roller coaster of emotions,” she said, describing the time spent in the hospital and the comfort relatives felt after the court decision.
The criminal case began with an emergency call, not a courtroom filing. Deputies and firefighters responded around 10 p.m. April 11 to a structure fire and report of an injured woman. They found the victim with severe burns to her arms, legs, chest and back. Investigators said she was able to tell deputies that Faircloth had forced entry into the home and attacked her with gasoline before leaving the scene. Officials have not released a complete recording of the emergency call, and they have not said who first reported the fire.
After the woman was taken to a trauma center, the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Marshal’s Office treated the home as a crime scene. Investigators consulted with prosecutors and obtained warrants accusing Faircloth of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree arson, first-degree burglary, assault inflicting serious bodily injury and misdemeanor domestic violence. The arson warrant said the dwelling was occupied when it burned. Another allegation said the fire was set on the woman’s body, including her arms, legs, chest and back.
Faircloth was not arrested at the home. Deputies said he left on a gray and red bicycle, and authorities searched for him after the fire. Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said a citizen later reported seeing someone who matched Faircloth’s description near woods behind a residence off Butler Island Road. Deputies went to the area April 13, searched behind the home and took him into custody without incident. The site was about three miles from the woman’s home, according to local reports. Officials have not said where the bicycle was found.
The woman’s identity has been handled unevenly in public reporting. At least one local report named her, but other coverage withheld her name at the family’s request. This article is not naming her because relatives asked for privacy as she remains in medical care. Law enforcement has confirmed her age and the extent of her burns, but it has not released a hospital name or a full update on her present condition. Her family told a local television station that her prognosis was not good.
Faircloth’s first court appearance changed the immediate risk calculation for the family. A judge denied bond, leaving him in the Sampson County jail while the case proceeds. Bond decisions do not decide guilt. They determine whether a defendant may be released before trial and under what conditions. In this case, the judge’s decision meant Faircloth would stay in custody after the alleged attack and after prosecutors said the charges could become more serious if the victim dies.
The district attorney’s office has said it will charge Faircloth with first-degree murder if the woman does not survive. That warning placed the medical case and the criminal case on the same timeline. Doctors were treating burns that covered a large part of the woman’s body, while investigators were gathering records, statements and physical evidence from the home. Prosecutors also must prepare for the charges already filed, including the counts tied to arson and burglary. Public records do not yet show a trial date.
The case has also carried a second kind of record, made up of short posts from people who know the woman. Friends have described her as kind, respectful and loved. One wrote that thinking about what the woman endured hurt her heart. Another urged her to keep fighting and come home. Those posts do not replace official updates, but they show the circle of relatives, coworkers and friends watching the case while they wait for clearer medical news.
Roseboro sits in Sampson County, a rural county in southeastern North Carolina. The town is small enough that a house fire, an arrest and a court hearing can be felt beyond the immediate family. Police reports put the attack at a private home on North Pine Street, not in a public place. That setting has become central to the charges because the warrants allege forced entry, an occupied dwelling and a fire started while the woman was inside.
Many details remain unknown. Authorities have not described the events that led up to the attack. They have not said whether Faircloth and the woman lived together, whether they had argued that night or whether there were earlier warning signs known to police. They have not said whether Faircloth made a statement after his arrest. Public reporting also has not confirmed whether he has entered a plea or whether an attorney is speaking for him.
The next stage is expected to move through Sampson County court while the woman’s condition remains the central fact outside the courthouse. Faircloth was due back in court May 8, and prosecutors have tied any possible murder charge to whether the woman survives.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.