Man arrested for setting men on fire makes serious allegations

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The suspect arrested for allegedly setting a lawyer and his son on fire has made some serious allegations.

Curtis Holliman is currently in jail, charged with murder for allegedly dousing longtime Houston attorney Kirby Taylor and his son, Dexter, with gas then setting them on fire.

The son did not survive his burns.

Quanell X, a community activist, spoke with Holliman in jail and said the loss of life is tragic but there is more to the story. Holliman, who was homeless before, lived in the attorney's house and that is where he claimed the abuse started.

“He said that for a place to sleep and stay, to have a roof over his head, he was forced to be this man's personal sex toy, and he was used for sexual gratification for other men who were brought to the home,” said Quanell X.

As for the morning of the fire, Quanell X says Holliman snapped.

“He felt that he had been betrayed, manipulated, and sexually exploited and had been lied to over and over again, so he said the day the fire started, this was not about one particular act, this was a buildup of anger,” said Quanell X.

But it’s a different story for Taylor.

We reached out to the lawyer, who had his friend, a nurse who's treated him before, speak for him.

She could not address the sexual allegations but did say Taylor feared Curtis Holliman, whom she described as troubled.

“I know that he was hiding from Curtis because Curtis had assaulted him and chased him around 610. I know that Kirby has bruises on him,” Jenyce Bond, a friend and nurse of Kirby Taylor.

She said while Holliman did live in Taylor's house, that Taylor has not stayed there in at least nine months and that Holliman was somehow extorting Taylor so he could stay.

Bond also said Holliman would harass Taylor at his law office.

“Kirby Taylor has locked me in the office with the secretary when Curtis was downstairs, he would go out and physically lock us in,” said Bond. “I guess it was to protect us.”

Holliman did also say that he has suffered from mental health issues  in the past.

He is now being held on a $100,000 bond.