Pomona man charged with murder after allegedly setting woman on fire

POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Pomona man accused of killing a woman by setting her on fire was charged on Tuesday with capital murder.

Clarence Duwell Dear was taken into custody on Sunday after police received a tip that he may have boarded a Metro bus in Pasadena.

The 51-year-old is accused of dousing Dawn Hensley, 41, in gasoline before lighting her on fire with a cigarette during a Christmas Day domestic dispute.

Hensley was seen fully engulfed in fire running from a home on Cordova Street. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she died.

Dear has been ordered to be held without bail. The murder count includes a special circumstance allegation of murder involving the infliction of torture. Dear's arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday but it was postponed until Jan. 28.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Dear, who is also charged with one count of cruelty to a child involving the couple's 12-year-old son. Authorities declined to provide details on that charge.

The couple had four children together, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

City News Service contributed to this report.