ST. LOUIS — A man has been charged with arson and endangering the welfare of a child after a car explosion in the Hill neighborhood Sept. 2.
According to charging documents, a woman told police that she and her 13-year-old son were sleeping at her home in the 5400 block of Bischoff Avenue when they were woken up by an explosion.
Officials said the woman’s car was engulfed in flames in her driveway.
A neighbor who lives across the street from the woman gave police surveillance video showing a man throwing an object underneath the woman’s vehicle that caused it to catch fire. Police also said the explosion caused damage to the home.
The woman and her son identified the suspect in the surveillance video as the woman’s ex-husband, 30-year-old Dean McBaine.
Officials said McBaine knew his son was in the home at the time of the explosion.
McBaine was charged with arson, endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful possession of an illegal weapon and property damage.
