An 83-year-old woman was brutally beaten and set on fire by people who broke into her Meriwether County home overnight, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Three men and a woman demanded money from Dorothy Dow after they entered her house in the 7000 block of Forest Road in Grantville, Meriwether County Sheriff Chuck Smith told Channel 2. The break-in occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight.

“She pleaded with them that she did not have any money,” Smith said.

However, the attackers broke both of Dow’s arms and left cuts and bruises on her face. The people also poured a flammable liquid on the victim and lit it, Smith said.

“I can’t believe that somebody would set a grandmama on fire,” said Beth Dow, the victim’s daughter-in-law.

Beth Dow said her mother-in-law remembered that she had a gallon of water that she used to fill her breathing machine.

“With those broken hands, she took the top off the gallon of water and poured it on her head and put out the flames,” Beth Dow said.

Dorothy Dow is being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Grantville is about 50 miles southwest of Atlanta.

The sheriff is searching for clues. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.

About the Author

Featured

Laurence Walker, a volunteer with the Cajun Navy Relief, left, takes two volunteers out on his boat on Lake Oconee to search for Gary Jones, Tuesday, February, 18, 2024, in Eatonton, Ga. The Putnam County sheriff is investigating and searching after Spelman College instructor Joycelyn Nicole Wilson and an Atlanta private school coach Gary Jones went missing on Lake Oconee over a week ago, Saturday Feb. 8th. The body of Wilson was found Sunday, Feb. 9th and Jones has not been found. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com