Hearing set for murder suspect

March 27, 2005

KATE GOLDEN/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A Mat-Su woman who is charged with murdering her 56-year-old invalid boyfriend by dousing him with gasoline, setting him on fire and leaving their house to burn down is scheduled for another pre-indictment hearing April 1 in Palmer Superior Court.

Alaska State Trooper dispatchers received a 911 call on Aug. 1, 2004, from Michelle Walter. She said 30-year-old Niobie L. Ewing, her neighbor, called and told her that she had poured gasoline on her boyfriend, Thomas Bourbeau, doused the house, and set the scene on fire.

As Ewing spoke, Walter's call waiting beeped. It was Bourbeau, who told her Ewing had poured gasoline all over and around him while he was in bed upstairs.

Generally confined to a wheelchair, Bourbeau was unable to walk, and could not navigate the stairs without help.

Shortly after Walter's call, Palmer Police Dispatch reported a fire at the residence, located at 7061 Finger Lake Ave.

Troopers arrived to find Ewing and her son outside a house that was engulfed in fire.

Ewing, when a trooper asked why she smelled of gasoline, said she must have fallen in some gas in the driveway or on the lawn, Trooper Timothy Hunyor reported in his affidavit.

Hunyor's affidavit stated that later, however, Ewing told troopers she intentionally ignited the fire, which killed Bourbeau and gutted the house.

Her son said he saw the whole incident. Before the fire started, he said, Ewing and Bourbeau were arguing. Ewing threatened to kill Bourbeau, but Bourbeau said he didn't believe she could do it, the son reported.

He said Ewing told Bourbeau, "Give me the money or I'll burn it down."

"You wouldn't dare," Bourbeau allegedly said.

The son said his mother told him to back away, lit her purple lighter and dropped it into the gas to light it.

Ewing was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree arson in August. She is being held at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in lieu of $75,000 cash plus a court-approved third-party custodian.

Contact Kate Golden at 352-2284 or kate.golden@frontiersman.com.