A man in El Paso, Texas was arrested and charged with capital murder after he set a house on fire while his mother and brother were still inside, killing his brother in the blaze.
According to an affidavit obtained by KTSM, the man who started the fire did so because his mother and brother were not living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Bible.
The man, 40-year-old Philip Daniel Mills, took strange precautions before turning violent:
"He intentionally broke the television located in the living room because he needed to 'purge the home from 'evil."
"The defendant state that he left the residence and allowed his mother to be in a 'happy place' throughout the day and waited for both his mother and brother to go to bed, before starting the fire."
Mills started the fire by pouring gasoline all over the living room couch then lighting the fuel with a cloth he'd set aflame.
The affidavit outlined the gruesome details of Mills' plan.
"Once the sofa caught on fire, he walked outside the house and waited to see if his mother or brother would go outside but they didn't."
"The defendant advised that he waited outside the residence with large rocks in his hands in the event that both his brother and mother had made it out the burning residence."
El Paso Fire Department officials were able to pull Mills' 54-year-old brother and 82-year-old mother out of the burning house. Though his mother survived and remains in critical condition, his brother, Paul Aaron Mills, died at the hospital.
When Mills was found running in the area, El Paso Police Department officers arrested him and told him about what happened to his brother and mother.
Mills response, according to the affidavit, was chilling:
"The defendant then laughed and advised the investigators that he was shocked that both his mother and brother did not perish and called it a 'failed attempt.' "
Mills was charged with capital murder and arson.
He awaits booking in the El Paso County Detention Facility.
When news of the tragedy reached Twitter, people couldn't believe how people's interpretations of religion can be so corrupted.
Aye-yi-yi, why am I still living here?— Ed Metcalf (@Ed Metcalf) 1627272134
More people are killed in the name of religion than anything else. It's especially touching he had a big rock in case his MOTHER & BROTHER made it out alive.— Gretchen (@Gretchen) 1627305861
I follow the bible as best I can. However, I don't recall any particular passage that tells me to burn a house.— Paul D. Ahkolik (@Paul D. Ahkolik) 1627274064
Neither did he.— TC\u2019s Happy Place (@TC\u2019s Happy Place) 1627282253
We wish Mills' 82-year-old mother, Florence Annette Mills, a full recovery.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter