On Thursday, a man who confessed to setting a Virginia city council member ablaze due to suspicions of an affair, received a 40-year prison sentence.
In April, Shotsie Buck-Hayes admitted to charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding following his assault on Danville City Council Member Lee Vogler.
Eyewitnesses recounted to the court that on July 30, 2025, Buck-Hayes burst into Vogler’s office in Danville, doused him with gasoline, then chased him outside before igniting him, as reported by Cardinal News.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman informed reporters that during the sentencing, Buck-Hayes spoke, presenting what he termed an apology, and attributing his actions to an alleged romantic involvement between Vogler and Buck-Hayes’ wife, Mary Alice.
During a preliminary hearing on September 30, 2025, Shotsie Buck-Hayes was seated next to his defense lawyer, Edward Lavado, in the General District Courtroom in Danville, Virginia. (The Associated Press)
Mary Alice filed for divorce in mid-July 2025, about two weeks before the attack, according to court records cited by Cardinal News.
In September 2025, during the grand jury phase of the case, Sgt. Gerrit Clay with the Danville Police Department testified that Buck-Hayes intended to kill the married father of two over this alleged affair, an accusation that has never been substantiated.
Blair Vogler, the council member’s wife, testified that the attack left her husband with second- and third-degree burns across 60% of his body.
After the attack, Vogler was immediately airlifted to the burn unit at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and spent months recovering.
Danville City Councilmember Lee Vogler attends a city council meeting on October 21, 2025, the same day he was discharged from the hospital after being set on fire months earlier (City of Danville)
“In order to correct those burns, they had to take an additional 35% of his skin, so there was a time when he was 95% open,” Blair Vogler testified, according to Cardinal News. “That has led to infections, he’s had burn shock, septic shock… a smoke inhalation injury, and burns to his lungs, so he had pneumonia.”
Circuit Judge James Reynolds sentenced Buck-Hayes to life in prison. He gave him 10 years for attempted murder and a life sentence for aggravated malicious wounding, but suspended part of both sentences, giving him a 40-year term.
Attorneys for Buck-Hayes say they are planning on appealing his sentence. They also said he is not a U.S. citizen and that in the future, he will likely return to his home country, the United Kingdom, according to ABC11.
After the attack, doctors believed Vogler would have to stay in the hospital for six months. According to his GoFundMe, he was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 21, 2025, roughly three months earlier than expected.
This undated photo provided by the City of Danville shows Danville City councilmember Lee Vogler, who was set on fire at his office in Danville, Virginia, on July 30, 2025. (City of Danville)
That same day, Vogler attended his first city council meeting since the attack and was warmly welcomed back by his colleagues.
“Recovery remains a long road—months to years—and will include orthopedic surgeries for a condition called heterotopic ossification, as well as future cosmetic and laser procedures to improve functionality, range of motion, and everyday independence,” Blair Vogler wrote in a December 2025 update on the GoFundMe. “One of Lee’s greatest challenges right now is working to regain use of the left hand due to nerve damage.”
Vogler was elected to the city council in 2012 at the age of 24, making him the youngest person to ever be ascend to that position.