Man Sentenced To 25 Years For Lighting Fire That Burned, Killed Man

A man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated arson in connection with the death of a Columbus man.

Ullman Taylor will spend 25 years in prison in connection with Frank Charles Calloway’s October 2005 death.

Calloway was doused with gasoline at a known drug house on Dakota Avenue, and Taylor lighted a piece of paper and dropped it on the ground near Calloway, igniting him.

Though the fire was initially ruled accidental, investigators said that evidence later surfaced showing Taylor and others were present at the time of the fire.

Prosecutors said that Taylor and other believed Calloway had information about a shooting and threatened to burn him alive if he did not talk about it.

“Ullman Taylor lit a small piece of paper in an effort to intimidate him,” Assistant Prosecutor James Lowe said in court on Wednesday. “He dropped the paper and Mr. Calloway went up in flames.”

The prosecutors said that Calloway ran screaming out of the house, and Taylor ran after him trying to extinguish the flames.

“He succumbed to his injuries a day later and died of his burns. He was burned over 95 percent of his body,” Lowe said.

Prosecutors said that more people likely would face charges in connection with Calloway’s death.

Taylor also was charged with tampering with evidence, because prosecutors said that he later burned his clothes in an attempt to destroy evidence.

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