Police Searching for 19-Year-Old Accused of Setting Couple on Fire After Separate Murder Charges Dropped

Houston police are searching for a 19-year-old woman who allegedly set a couple on fire less than a year after separate murder charges against her were dropped.

August 25, 2021

Mugshot of Emma Presler — Image via Houston Police Department
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Houston police are on the search for a 19-year-old woman, Emma Presler, who’s been accused of lighting a man on fire.

That man, 33-year-old Devin Graham, died shortly after that incident, which happened around 10 p.m. on August 6.

Presler has subsequently been charged with murder.

When Houston firefighters arrived to the scene earlier this month they found Graham along with his 26-year-old wife, Karissa Lindros. Both Lindros and Graham were able to escape from the home, but they were taken to a hospital with severe burns.

While at the hospital prior to his death Graham told authorities that Presler entered the home, poured an unknown substance on him, then set him on fire.

ABC-13 reports that Lindros is still in the hospital fighting for her life. A GoFundMe organized to help pay for medical costs and future procedures says that over 70 percent of her body has been burnt.

Witnesses say Presler left the scene after the incident in a white four-door sedan.

This marks the second time in less than a year that Presler has been charged with murder.

In September 2020, she was indicted in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old who was killed as she slept. That victim, Sierra Rhodd, suffered from muscular dystrophy, and was not the intended target, according to police.

Those charges against Presler were later dropped after a judge ruled that, though suspicious, there was no probable cause to continue detaining her due to lack of evidence.

Four other people alleged to have been involved with that shooting have since been arrested, including Presler’s boyfriend when the crime occurred.

In a thorough report that includes comments from Presler’s neighbors and Graham’s grandfather, The Daily Beast writes that Presler has previously faced charges for: theft, drug possession, evading arrest, and failure to appear in court. She also has an outstanding warrant for meth possession in addition to the warrant seeking her arrest for Graham’s death.