Man pleads guilty to killing wife by setting her on fire

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – A man who killed his wife by dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire during an argument has pleaded guilty to murder.

The Schenectady (skeh-NEHK’-ta-dee) County District Attorney’s office says 69-year-old Antonio Bargallo entered the plea Wednesday as part of a deal that will sentence him to 21 years to life in prison.

Officials say 48-year-old Elizabeth Gonzales was airlifted to a hospital after she ran screaming from her Schenectady home in flames in March. She died the next day.

Gonzales had two grown sons and worked for two decades as a teacher’s aide in the city schools.

Prosecutors say Bargallo’s attack on his wife is incomprehensible. He’ll be sentenced Sept. 20.