Sons awake to screams and try to stop dad from igniting gas-doused house, PA cops say

A Pennsylvania man is accused of dousing a house in gasoline while his family slept, then setting himself and the home ablaze, police told news outlets.

Simon Hen, 46, arrived at his Lancaster home at about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, police told WHTM. His marriage was falling apart, his wife had filed for separation and he was angry, according to investigators.

But she was still under his roof that night, as were their children — his 23- and 21-year-old sons and 17-year-old daughter — and a 19-year-old guest, police told the station. They were in their bedrooms as Hen made his way through the home pouring gasoline, including in the hallway outside his children’s rooms, and then on himself, investigators said.

Hen’s sons woke up to their father screaming, came out of their rooms and saw what he had done, WGAL reported.

He was holding a lighter, police said. Hen’s sons tried to get it away from him, wrestle it out of his hands, but they couldn’t, the outlet reported. The fuel was lit, and Hen went up in flames along with the home, police said.

Images from the scene show Lancaster Township Fire Department surrounding the two-story house as smoke billows from the roof, firefighters swarming the inside and outside of the structure.

Hen died in the fire but everyone else survived, though his sons and the 19-year-old woman were severely burned, Lancaster Online reported. Despite their injuries, the 19-year-old drove herself and the sons to a hospital where they were admitted in critical condition, though officials say they are expected to live.

Hen’s wife and daughter suffered minor injuries, officials told the outlet.

Investigators are considering the fire an attempted homicide, the outlet reported. An investigation is continuing.

Lancaster is a roughly 70-mile drive west from Philadelphia.

This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Sons awake to screams and try to stop dad from igniting gas-doused house, PA cops say."