Spiro Woman Dies At Tulsa Hospital After January Fire, Stabbing

The LeFlore County Sheriff's Office says a 47-year-old Spiro woman severely injured in a January house fire has died.

Myrtle Cooper died Thursday at a Tulsa hospital where she been taken following the fire.

Cooper suffered severe burns over 35 percent of her body and was stabbed several times. Elec Cusick, 39, who suffered smoke inhalation was arrested several days later and charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.

He remains in the LeFlore County jail in Poteau on a $150,000 bond.

1/29/2013 Related Story: LeFlore County Deputies: Man Stabbed Wife Several Times While House Burned

LeFlore County Sheriff Rob Seale said a report from the state fire marshal said the fire started in a bedroom, but the cause is unknown.

Seale expects a charge of first-degree murder to be filed against Cusick once the state Medical Examiner Office releases autopsy results on Cooper.