JOHNSON COUNTY, Mo. — The small community of Centerview, Missouri, is coming together after news that tragedy has struck their town.
Baylee McMillin, 20, was badly burned during a home invasion and burglary Sunday morning.
The Johnson County Sheriff said two men entered her family’s home, tied the young woman up, burglarized her home and threatened to burn her if she didn’t give them the combination to the gun safe.
The young woman refused, so the two men poured gasoline on her and throughout the residence and lit it on fire, leaving the woman burning inside the home.
Miraculously, McMillin escaped the home and was able to walk to a neighbors house to call police. She was later transported to a Kansas City-area hospital where she was treated for first-, second- and third-degree burns over 30 percent of her body.
On Monday, local restaurant Grosstown Cafe in Centerview began collecting donations for McMillin and her family.
“We are just trying to do something to help support them and give back to them,” Grosstown Cafe Owner Brenda MacRae said.
Antonio Bowen and Vincent Rist have been charged in connection to the incident. Both men are behind bars in the Johnson County Jail, each facing multiple felony charges.
“Our investigators are currently working, doing follow up leads, writing search warrants for different devices, and [looking into] different avenues so we can get more information about what possibly led up to this senseless act,” Johnson County Sheriff Scott Munsterman said.
Munsterman said this type of crime doesn’t happen often in his jurisdiction.
“We’ve had burglaries. We’ve had robberies. We’ve had assaults, but this is all thrown together in one huge incident. It’s a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family members again,” Munsterman said.
Anyone who wants to donate to help McMillin can do so at the Grosstown Cafe in Centerview or Gator Graphics in Warrensburg.
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