A 34-year-old California woman, Jacqueline Popaibarra, has been arrested and charged after allegedly setting a homeless woman on fire while she slept on a Sacramento sidewalk in a disturbing attack captured on surveillance footage.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the 49-year-old victim—whose name has not been released—was doused in liquid and set ablaze while sleeping on April 26.
The victim suffered third-degree burns across one-third of her body, including her face, torso, arms, and back, and was intubated for over two weeks due to the severity of her injuries.
Surveillance footage released Wednesday, May 14, shows a car making a U-turn before pulling up beside the sleeping woman. A woman, now identified as Popaibarra, exits the vehicle calmly carrying a canister, approaches the sleeping victim, and pours a liquid substance on her.
Moments later, the victim is engulfed in flames.
Before fleeing, Popaibarra allegedly kicked the burning woman, according to investigators. She then got back in her vehicle and left the scene.
Authorities confirmed that the victim and Popaibarra knew each other, although the motive behind the attack remains unclear. Police noted that Popaibarra is not homeless and was already in custody on an unrelated robbery charge at the time she was identified in the arson case.
She now faces multiple charges, including:
- Arson causing great bodily injury
- Assault with a deadly weapon
- Mayhem
Her bail has been set at $450,000.
After regaining the ability to speak, the victim positively identified Popaibarra as her attacker on Tuesday, weeks after the incident. The case has drawn nationwide outrage due to the sheer brutality of the attack and the vulnerability of the victim.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation and has not ruled out additional charges.
