WHEN mother-of-one Dorothy Spinella finished a night shift at the restaurant where she worked, she had no idea the horror that lay in wait outside.
Her obsessed friend and ex-housemate William Helmer, 67, lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce.
Moments later, the monster doused 67-year-old Dorothy with kerosene, before setting her on fire.
Dorothy, from Michigan, US, was left with third degree burns to 49 per cent of her body – given just 18 per cent chance of survival.
After nearly three months in a coma, she defied the odds and woke up.
In November 2023, Helmer was found guilty of assault with intent to murder and jailed for 40 to 80 years.
Now, five years on from the attack, Dorothy is left scarred for life, but is determined not to let the experience ruin her future.
She says: “I finally have justice for what he did to me. I have my life ahead of me while he rots in prison. I’m so grateful to have survived.”
Dorothy met Helmer, known as ‘Rusty’ to his friends, in March 2019, after he moved in next door to her close friend.
The pair hit it off and Helmer would often pop to the shops for her and pick up some cigarettes.
Soon, he offered to drop her to and from her work place in a restaurant.
She says: “He’d often sit and wait for me while I finished my shift, so I’d treat him to dinner.”
Within two months he confessed to liking her.
Wanting to just remain friends, Dorothy told him she’d like to build a friendship, instead.
Weeks later, Dorothy was experiencing problems with her landlady, so Helmer offered her a place to stay.
Dorothy says: “At first we got on fine. I paid half the rent and bills, and pulled my weight with the cooking and cleaning.
“Yet, whenever we hung out together in public together, he’d introduce me as his ‘girlfriend’. Not wanting any drama, or to hurt his feelings, I didn’t correct him.”
Three months later, following an argument, Dorothy was startled awake. Helmer had thrown a glass of cold water in her face.
She recalls: “He was raging and yelled ‘If I’m not going to sleep, no one is’. Not wanting to anger him further, I kept quiet.”
Next day Dorothy decided to move out. For a week she stayed at a friend’s and didn’t hear from Helmer.
Only, soon after, he begged for her forgiveness and convinced her to go back. But when Helmer started pressuring Dorothy to sleep with him, she moved into her own place.
Within days, he began following her in his car and bombarded her with calls and texts.
Once, when her friend gave her a lift to work, he blocked in the car on the driveway.
She says: “When we beeped the horn for him to move, he jumped out and pounded on the car window, shouting ‘You b***h’! I was terrified.”
By the time the police attended, Helmer had fled. They advised Dorothy take out a protection order, but she deemed it useless.
One night, soon after, she answered one of his calls.
When we beeped the horn for him to move, he jumped out and pounded on the car window, shouting ‘You bitch’! I was terrified.”
Dorothy Spinella
She says: “He told me ‘You know I’m just gonna lure you out the house and mess you up’. I was just hoping he’d get bored and leave me alone.”
But later that week, he showed up at her workplace and tried to get her fired, telling her boss she was stealing from the till.
Helmer was banned and removed from the restaurant. He then tried to get her evicted from her home.
Two weeks later, in November 2019, Dorothy finished her shift.
As she headed outside the back of the restaurant she heard a male voice say ‘b***h’.
Spinning around she caught sight of Helmer. Suddenly, she felt chemical liquid splash on her face.
She remembers: “Then I heard the click of a lighter, saw yellow and went up in flames. I fell to the ground, rolling around, screaming like a banshee.”
Eventually, some of her colleagues put the fire out with a bucket of mop water.
She was blue-lighted to Detroit Medical Centre and put in an induced coma. She was diagnosed with third-degree burns to nearly half her body.
For the first month, she was on death’s door and was given just an 18 per cent chance of survival.
Then I heard the click of a lighter, saw yellow and went up in flames. I fell to the ground, rolling around, screaming like a banshee.
Dorothy Spinella
Soon after, Dorothy underwent multiple skin grafts, using pig donor skin and had countless blood transfusions to save her life.
Three months later she was brought around.
She says: “I woke up with my whole body wrapped in bandages, both arms in splints and a tube in my throat.
“Looking around the room I noticed Christmas cards and a New Year banner, and realised I’d missed months.”
A few weeks later, Dorothy gave a statement to the police, who confirmed Helmer had been arrested four days after the attack.
Over the next few months, Dorothy underwent physiotherapy to help her walk again but was forced to drink through a straw.
She says: “It was exhausting just sitting up in a chair. But I was determined to get better.”
Eventually, her trach tube was removed and she was transferred to a rehab centre.
When she was discharged she moved in with her son, Bryan Morrissey, 34, who cared for her for a year and a half until she was well enough to live on her own.
Four years on, the case finally went to trial. In November 2023, William Helmer was jailed for 40 to 80 years.
Since the attack, Dorothy has endured over 50 skin grafts and other surgeries to help mobility in her arms. Yet she’s embracing her scars and new appearance.
She says: “I may not look like I used to, but I’m holding my head high and looking to the future.
“It’s an ongoing journey and one that won’t end, but I’m keeping on.”
To help support Dorothy, please donate here.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
