A week after a 36-year-old woman was found in a park after being sexually assaulted and set on fire, she succumbed to her injuries and passed, according to The Wichita Eagle.
Half her body had severe burns and she had cuts on her head, the Eagle reported. Police Lt. James Espinoza said she died around 9:40 a.m. Saturday.
Cornell A. McNeal, 26, of Wichita, was charged Friday with attempted capital murder and rape, as well as with two counts of arson stemming from fires that were set that day in the park and at a garage, according to the Eagle. His Bond was set at $250,000.
The woman is believed to have been attacked randomly after encountering the man, the Eagle reported.
According to police, McNeal was linked to the attack by forensic evidence obtained after the woman was taken to a hospital, according to the Eagle.
The woman was found after firefighters responded to a late-night grass fire on Nov. 14, the Eagle reported. The firefighters found her and took her to a hospital.
Espinoza said charges against McNeal would be amended following the death of the woman, whose name hasn't been released, according to the Eagle.
Court records say McNeal has a criminal history that includes misdemeanor convictions for criminal trespass and theft, the Eagle reported. He was also charged with battery in a 2009 case that he appealed from municipal court to district court.
