A UW-Madison graduate student is recovering from serious burns after her uncle allegedly set fire to a room with a blowtorch, killing five of her family members in Puerto Rico on New Year's Day.
Patricia Sanchez Vazquez, 24, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Bacteriology, is recovering at a hospital in Puerto Rico from second-degree burns on more than 25 percent of her body.
Vazquez is expected to make a full recovery and be out of the hospital within two to four weeks, according to Department of Bacteriology Chair Richard Gourse.
Vazquez's cousin, grandmother, sister, brother and brother's fiancé were killed in the attack. Her father is recovering well with a similar prognosis to Vazquez, and her mother remains in induced paralysis.
Justino Sanchez Diaz, 45, allegedly doused the room where Vazquez and her family would gather for a family meal with gasoline before his relatives arrived.
Local police said Diaz placed fuel canisters under the dinner table and sprayed kerosene on family members as they sat down. He then lit them on fire with a homemade blowtorch.
Diaz is in custody with no known motive.
