Jealous husband will plead GUILTY to dousing lawmaker in gasoline and setting him ablaze to avenge affair with wife

Published: 23:58, 15 April 2026 | Updated: 00:01, 16 April 2026 A jealous husband will plead guilty to dousing a Virginia lawmaker with gasoline and setting him on fire to avenge an affair the city councilman was having with his wife. Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes, 29, is set to change his plea to 'guilty' on Thursday, after previously pleading 'not guilty' to attempted first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding and breaking and entering, the Danville City Sheriff announced. Police have previously said Buck-Hayes, who grew up in the English county of Devon, admitted that he had purchased gasoline at a gas station with the intent to kill Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, using a lighter to start the fire on July 30, 2025. At a preliminary hearing in September, a police officer also testified that Buck-Hayes told cops 'he set the person on fire who had an affair with his wife.'  The attack left Vogler, a father-of-two, with second and third-degree burns to 60 percent of his body. His wife, Blair, also said he suffered burn shock, as well as burning to his lungs due to the smoke inhalation.   Vogler then spent three months recovering from the burns before he returned to the city council, WDBJ reports.  Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes, 29, is set to change his plea to 'guilty' on Thursday to attempted first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding and breaking and entering with intent to commit murder A police officer testified in September that Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes told cops 'he set the person on fire who had an affair with his wife.' He is seen here alongside his wife Mary Alice, who filed for divorce weeks before the attack Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler spent three months recovering before he returned to the city council  Three witnesses testified at the hearing in September, including an employee of Showcase Magazine where the attack happened and Lee worked, a police investigator and Vogler's wife. According to the employee, Stephen Seiple, Buck-Hayes walked into the building with a bucket and chased Vogler, pouring gasoline on him.  Seiple told the court that he saw the actual burning happen, and described the wounds on Vogler.  'The next thing I remember was Lee screaming "call 911, he threw gas on me," he came running by. He had a burgundy shirt on, I could smell gas,' Seiple said. 'Somebody came behind Lee with a bucket.' When asked to identify them, he pointed to Buck-Hayes, who appeared in a prison jumpsuit. Seiple continued: 'I called 911, and by the time I got to Lee's office and they were going out to the street. 'When I got [out front], his shirt had been burned off. His chest was very pink and his arms were really, really bad.'  Vogler (right) has two young children with his wife, Blair Vogler (left) It was later revealed that Hayes’s wife, Mary Alice Buck-Hayes, filed for divorce just two weeks before the incident. The couple married in 2021, according to her Facebook page. Buck-Hayes emigrated to the US from his home in South Molton, Devon, in 2020. Police said that Buck-Hayes fled the scene but witnesses managed to provide them with a description of him and his vehicle.  He was then stopped several blocks away where he was taken into custody by officers.  A trial in the case was scheduled to start on April 20.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.