LeFlore County Deputies: Man Stabbed Wife Several Times While House Burned

A LeFlore County man injured in a house fire near Spiro on January 21, 2013, is in the Tulsa County jail charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.

Elec Cusick, 39, and his common law wife, Myrtle Cooper, 47, were flown by medical helicopter to a Tulsa hospital burn center following that fire.

LeFlore County Sheriff's deputies investigating the fire determined Cusick had stabbed Cooper several times before firefighters found the couple unconscious outside the home.

1/22/2013 Related Story: LeFlore County Couple Found Beaten, Burned Outside Their Home

Cooper remains in the hospital in critical condition with severe burns over 35 percent of her body, but Cusick was released after being treated for smoke inhalation then booked into the Tulsa County jail.

Cusick was arrested on a fugitive warrant out of Iowa.

Sheriff Rob Seale expects Cusick to be returned to LeFlore County this week where he could face additional charges.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.