Girlfriend opposes burn treatment for Troy man charged with killing her mother in fire
The Troy man charged with killing his girlfriend’s 69-year-old mother by setting her duplex on fire in September has been released from a St. Louis hospital burn unit and transported to the Madison County Jail.
Michael E. Sloan Jr., 40, is asking a judge to reduce his bond from $1 million to $400,000 so he can get out of jail and undergo “burn rehabilitation” at a residential treatment facility. He would have to come up with 10% of that amount.
Sloan’s doctor told his defense attorney and arresting Troy police officers that the treatment isn’t “medically necessary” because he wouldn’t die without it but that it would greatly improve his long-term health, according to a Nov. 4 motion for bond reduction.
“Based on his current medical condition, the Defendant is neither a flight risk nor a danger,” the motion stated. “He is ambulatory. However, he is severely burned to an extent that significant movement would be very difficult. Mr. Sloan’s burns also make him highly conspicuous.”
Susanne Tomlinson died Sept. 22 in a fire at her duplex in the 500 block of Wood Thrush Street in Troy. Madison County Coroner Steve Nonn’s office determined that smoke inhalation was the cause of death.
First responders pulled Sloan from the fire. He suffered serious burns and spent more than a month in the hospital, according to the motion for bond reduction.
Sloan is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated arson and one count of aggravated unlawful restraint.
On Thursday, Courtney Tomlinson, 39, of Troy, Susanne’s daughter, said she’s adamantly opposed to bond reduction for Sloan and that she hopes he dies in prison and “rots in (expletive) hell.”
“He’s a threat to society,” Courtney Tomlinson said. “I am in huge danger if they release him. He is going to come and kill me and my kids. I’m a witness, and no witness, no case. So absolutely he’s going to come straight for me. No doubt.”
Sloan formerly lived with Courtney Tomlinson and her two children in a duplex down the street from her mother. Some of the charges against him relate to a domestic dispute that occurred before the fire.
The charging document alleges that Sloan ordered Courtney Tomlinson to bind herself with zip-ties on her wrists, covered her with gasoline, held a knife to her throat and stated that he was going to kill her before she escaped to a neighbor’s house.
Justin Kuehn, of Kuehn, Beasley & Young in Belleville, is representing Sloan. He declined to comment Thursday on the criminal case, which has its next hearing scheduled for Nov. 18.
The office of Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine filed charges on Sept. 27, and Associate Judge Janet Heflin set bond at $1 million. Sloan was released from the hospital Oct. 31.
“He was taken into custody and transported to the (St. Louis County Jail),” said Troy Assistant Police Chief Chris Wasser. “He waived his right to an extradition hearing, and at that point he was transported to the Madison County Jail, where he’s being held until he can post bond.”
If the judge denies the motion for bond reduction, Sloan is asking for temporary release so he can go to a residential facility in Shiloh for treatment with the understanding that he would later return to jail.
Courtney Tomlinson said she’s “broken” over her mother’s death and haunted by the thought that she couldn’t save her and that Susanne Tomlinson suffered before she died.
Courtney Tomlinson had previously stated that, after their fight, Sloan walked down the street with a can of gasoline, went to her mother’s duplex, threw gas in her face and said “Everybody is going to die today” before locking himself inside with Susanne Tomlinson, who was screaming.
“He’s asking for a $600,000 bond reduction, and you’ve got three first-degree murder charges and an attempted murder charge,” Courtney Tomlinson said Thursday. “You’ve got to be a (expletive) moron to think that you’re going to get out.
“He did this to himself. I didn’t throw the gas on him. I didn’t make him look the way he looks. I didn’t put him in the hospital. He did everything himself. He’s not going to get any sympathy from anybody.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
