Man who allegedly lit wife on fire granted venue change

A man who is accused of throwing gasoline and lighting his wife on fire with a cigarette lighter in June 2013 appeared in court Tuesday for a pretrial conference in Huntsville.

Their home in at 301 S. Randolph Street in Higbee was also engulfed in flames.

Willard Hunt was charged in Randolph County with first degree arson, first degree domestic assault, and armed criminal action.

After several pretrial motions had been heard and ruled on, Hunt told Judge Scott Hayes that some time ago, he asked his previous attorney to request a change of venue.

The Judge and court clerks reviewed records Tuesday and could not find that a request had been filed.

Hunt also told Judge Hayes that he would be unable to get a fair trial with a Randolph County jury because of pretrial publicity.

The Judge granted Hunt a venue change, delaying the trial which was scheduled to begin April 3.

Hunt’s next court date has not been set.