Woman says husband was 'trying to kill me and my family' after he allegedly set house on fire

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A 28-year-old man is at large after he intentionally set fire to a home where his wife and her 11-year-old daughter were sleeping in north Harris County, according to the fire marshal's office.

The fire started at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the 11400 block of Mortimer Drive. The husband, identified as 28-year-old Pablo Patino, is accused of setting six different fires around the house by lighting a flammable liquid, which was caught on doorbell footage.

The wife agreed to speak only to ABC13 and said she believes he wanted her dead as revenge. We agreed to protect her identity because she is in fear of her family's safety.

"I think he was trying to kill me and my family," she said. "He knew our home has bars on it. He lit the front door and back door on fire, and he set little fires in front of the garage, so every point of entry or exit except the windows.

She and her daughter were staying with her parents, which she believed was a safe space because she called the police on her husband on Christmas. Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office confirmed they arrested Patino for assault, and he was scheduled to appear in court the same day of the fire.

"I think we were on the path to divorce after I had him arrested," she said. "He was worried about that stuff and wanted to keep us quiet."

She was able to get out of the house along with her parents and two siblings after her sister's dog started barking and woke them up.

Her brother also had a fire extinguisher, which he used, and they escaped through the back door.

She and Patino have known each other since middle school, and she is in disbelief he would be capable of something like this.

"I have known him since seventh grade," she said. "Almost 15 years. I never thought this was something he would do."

After she escaped, she said she tried to confront Patino, and that is when officials say he hit her with his car and took off. She suffered minor injuries.

He's wanted for charges of arson of habitation, violation of a protective order, and aggravated assault.

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