WHEN single mum Kari Rouse popped out to the shops for a few essentials, she had no idea she was about to be put through a hellish ordeal that would change her life forever.
Minutes after she left home, evil Houston Ketter, 41, ran up behind her, dousing her in lighter fluid and setting her on fire.
The mother-of-one went up in flames and suffered 30 per cent burns to her body.
Not expecting to survive, Kari, 39, from New York, US, lay in an induced coma for 45 days.
Yet she was determined to live and fought hard to recover – even testifying against her attacker at his trial.
In October 2023, Ketter was jailed for 50 years for attempted murder.
Now Kari, who has a permanent tracheotomy to help her breathe, is scarred for life.
If that wasn’t enough, she is currently battling cancer, which medics suspect was caused by benzine, a chemical found in the lighter fluid that was used to set her alight.
Now she’s bravely speaking out to raise awareness for burns survivors.
Kari says: “The devil tried to end my life that day. But he failed.
“It was the most painful, traumatic event I’ve ever experienced, yet I survived.
“I want others to have hope they can rebuild their lives too.”
Kari knew of Ketter as a ‘bad boy’ in her neighbourhood.
He was known as ‘JD’ and had a violent streak and nasty reputation.
She says: “I only knew him in passing.
“Once I witnessed him beat a man up outside the local corner shop and I’d heard he was violent towards his girlfriends too so I kept out of his way.”
Robbed food stamps
In December 2021, she gave birth to her son, Karmik, now two.
As a single mother, she struggled to make ends meet, relying on food stamps from the government.
Suddenly I felt liquid splash onto my back and then whoosh, I went up in flames
Kari Rouse
One day, in October 2022, while walking back from the shops after collecting her stamps, she spotted Ketter across the street.
She explains: “He crossed over and asked me if I had any money.
“I told him ‘no’, but when he pressed me, I said I just had my food stamp card.
“He took the card from me and handed me £100.
“It must’ve had £200 on it, which would’ve lasted me a few weeks.”
Intimidated by his aggressive manner, Kari was too scared to protest.
A few weeks later, in November, she picked up a replacement card but when she went to create a new pin, she realised there was still £30 left on the old balance – which automatically transferred to the new one.
Hoping Houston wouldn’t noticed, she headed to the shops to get some supplies.
But on the way, she heard the rev of a car engine behind her.
She remembers: “I knew it was Houston as I recognised his white Dodge Charger.
“Moments later, he pulled up beside me, before grabbing my arm and dragging me along the car park.
The officer told me Houston was on the run and had been seen laughing before fleeing the scene
Kari
“I tried to explain that I didn’t know there was still money left on the card but he didn’t care and continued to floor the car. I could barely stay upright.”
After a few minutes Ketter let go and Kari fled home.
Flaming attack
But days later, on November 13, 2022, Kari was walking to the shops when she heard running from behind.
She says: “Suddenly I felt liquid splash onto my back and then whoosh, I went up in flames.
“My back, head and arms were on fire.
“I stopped, dropped and rolled, but it was no use.”
As Kari ran to bystanders for help, everyone looked on in shock.
Thankfully a police car drove by and an officer leapt into action.
But when he retrieved a fire extinguisher from the boot to put out the flames, it didn’t work, so he got out a chemical blanket and patted out the fire instead.
Soon after, an ambulance arrived and blue-lighted Kari to a nearby hospital before airlifting her to Upstate University Hospital burns unit.
Two and a half months later, she woke up from an induced coma.
She says: “Police officers were guarding the door and I was hooked up to multiple machines.
I was terrified he’d finish me off
Kari
“I had a tube down my throat so couldn’t speak.”
That day a nurse explained how she’d suffered third-degree burns to 30 per cent of her body and wasn’t expected to survive.
She’d already undergone countless skin grafts, using cadaver skin.
Two days later her mother visited and confirmed Karmik was safe with foster carers.
Vital statement
The following week, she had her tracheotomy removed and gave a statement to the police.
She says: “The officer told me Houston was on the run and had been seen laughing before fleeing the scene.
“I was terrified he’d finish me off.”
Over the next month, Kari underwent daily skin scrubs.
And on Karmik’s first birthday, two days after Christmas, she underwent emergency tracheotomy surgery after a previous skin graft op left her struggling to breathe.
Afterwards she was unable to speak again.
After two months in NICU, she was finally transferred to a rehab centre.
Reading my impact statement, I wanted to be a voice for all women who’d suffered violence
Kari
She says: “I had physiotherapy to help me walk again and slowly, I began to improve.”
In time, Kari was able to walk to the bathroom, unaided.
Seeing her reflection in the mirror for the first time left her shocked.
She explains: “I was unrecognisable.
“My long beautiful strawberry blond hair was completely gone.
“Instead, I had bald patches all over my scalp.
“My surgeon explained how the fire had destroyed my hair follicles. That it’d never grow back.”
‘I faced him down’
In time, Kari was fit enough to see her son and would visit him at the children’s centre twice a week.
Then, in March 2023, four months on from the attack, Ketter was finally caught and arrested.
Three months later, Kari underwent T-tube trach surgery – when a silicone tube is inserted into the neck – to allow her to speak again.
In October last year, she wore a brown wig and faced Ketter at his trial to give her evidence.
He was found guilty of attempted murder and was jailed for 50 years.
How to treat burns
Your skin has three layer; the outer layer (epidermis), the dermis (which contains vessels, nerves, hair follicles) and the deeper layer of fat (subcutis).
A full thickness burn is when all layers of skin are damaged, while a superficial burn is when only the top layer has been effected.
The NHS says to treat a burn:
- Immediately get the person away from the heat source
- Remove any clothing or jewellery, including babies’ nappies, but do not move anything that’s stuck to the skin
- Cool the burn with cool or lukewarm running water for 20 to 30 minutes – do not use ice, iced water, or any creams or greasy substances like butter
- Make sure the person keeps warm by using a blanket, for example
- After cooling the burn, cover the burn by placing a layer of cling film over it – a clean plastic bag could also be used for burns on your hand
- Use painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
- Raise the affected area if possible to reduce swelling
- If it’s an acid or chemical burn, dial 999, carefully try to remove the chemical and any contaminated clothing, and rinse the affected area using as much clean water as possible
You should go to a hospital A&E department for:
- All chemical and electrical burns
- Large or deep burns – any burn bigger than the injured person’s hand
- Burns that cause white or charred skin – any size
- Burns on the face, neck, hands, feet, any joints or genitals
Kari says: “Attending his sentencing, I faced him down.
“Reading my impact statement, I wanted to be a voice for all women who’d suffered violence.
“Determined not to be seen as another statistic, I needed Houston to know he wouldn’t rob my of my future.”
In April this year, Kari received more devastating news.
She was diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia, thought to be caused by the benzine in the lighter fluid used by Ketter to set her alight.
Thankfully, seven months into treatment, her prognosis looks positive.
She says: “Hopefully I’ll be well enough to have Karmik living with me again early next year.
“I’m determined to watch him grow, start school and become the beautiful young man he’s turning into.
“He’s such a happy soul and my light in all this darkness.”
Now she’s raising money to help with her recovery.
Donations can be made here: www.gofundme.com/f/attempted-murder-fire-survivor-now-diagnosed-with-leukemia.
