Man sets home on fire over debt, tragically kills innocent woman

A Texas man is set to spend his life in prison after he set fire to a residence over an unsettled debt, leading to the death of his target's mother.

Courtney Allen Thompson Jr., 22, was found guilty of capital murder and received a life sentence for killing 55-year-old Renita Hawthorne in Galveston.

As stated by prosecutors, Galveston fire and law enforcement responded to a house blaze in February 2024 on the 700 block of 39th Street.

Emergency crews broke a bedroom window to save three people, which included two children.

Sadly, they could not reach Hawthorne, who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning and severe burns.

Investigators swiftly classified the fire as arson, focusing on Thompson and a drug trafficker named Xavier Faison, also known as Saccathon, who was never prosecuted for the case. Hawthorne's son testified about Faison's threats concerning a drug-related debt.

According to court files accessed by local CBS affiliate KHOU, Faison sent notes to Hawthorne's son such as "See y'all ready to play" and "Doesn't your mom drive that truck with the broken window?"

Surveillance captured a black car driving in the vicinity. The vehicle halted, and two individuals, one wielding a gas can, approached the house. They fled, followed by flames erupting from the home soon after.

Thompson doused gasoline at the home's entrances, trapping occupants without fire rescue intervention.

Prosecutors noted Faison boasted about the blaze in a shared Instagram video, vowing to incinerate all of Galveston while expressing his wish to see Hawthorne deceased.

During the trial, a jail informant testified that Thompson confessed to starting the fire. The informant divulged this information because he disapproved of Thompson's boasts about the death of an innocent woman.

State representation was handled by Prosecutor Adam Poole.

"In his concluding remarks, Poole contended that starting fires at each doorway showed Thompson's intent was to trap and kill everyone inside. He compared his actions to erecting a tomb and setting it aflame, citing one of Thompson's Instagram posts to highlight how he viewed Renita Hawthorne as an asset to showcase online."