Peabody man accused of trying to kill his girlfriend by setting apartment on fire

A 39-year-old Peabody man allegedly tried to kill his girlfriend and set their apartment on fire Tuesday evening, police said.

Edi Diazabakana is charged with attempted murder, arson, domestic assault and battery, and kidnapping, Peabody police said in a press release Wednesday.

Police responded to an apartment fire at 85 Lowell St. around 11 p.m. on Aug. 8, the release said. When the first officer got to the scene, Diazabakana’s girlfriend called out for help and said her boyfriend was trying to kill her.

The Peabody Fire Department soon arrived and put out the fire, police said.

When police entered the lobby of the apartment building, a 28-year-old woman came running down the stairs, NBC10 Boston reported. She told police her boyfriend, who lives with her and was later identified as Diazabakana, came into the bedroom while she was sleeping and lit the bed on fire, the news station reported.

The victim had broken up with Diazabakana earlier that day, and he had not taken it well, she told police, according to the Gloucester Daily Times. At some point, they got into a fight and he allegedly hit her in the face multiple times, causing a bloody nose which police noticed, the Daily Times reported.

The victim tried to get out of the apartment during the fire, but Diazabakana allegedly physically stopped her from leaving and told her “they were both going to die there together,” the Daily Times reported.

The victim’s 50-year-old mother was also in the apartment that night, NBC10 Boston reported.

“My mother tried to help, but he fought her off,” Sasha, the victim’s sister, told WBZ-TV. “My mother ran out to get help, and it was only by the grace of God that my sister and my mother are both alive right now.”

The woman and her mother suffered significant burns on their lower legs, NBC10 Boston reported. Police later found a red gas tank and a blow torch in the apartment.

The fire displaced the building’s 20 residents, as authorities deemed the building unsafe, the Daily Times reported. The American Red Cross is assisting.

Police arrested Diazabakana without incident, NBC10 Boston reported. He was arraigned Wednesday in Peabody District Court and held without bail.

During the arraignment, Diazabakana pleaded not guilty, the Daily Times reported. He is due at a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Aug. 16.

The judge also ordered Diazabakana to have no contact with the victim, the newspaper reported. They have reportedly been dating for three years and moved in together in October 2023.

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