Charges: Mom pours gasoline on daughter, flicks lighter, for bad grade 'It's my daughter and I can do as I please!'

A 44-year-old mother is accused of dousing her teen daughter in gasoline and threatening to light her on fire because of what the victim claimed was a bad test grade, charges say. A 44-year-old mother is accused of dousing her teen daughter in gasoline and threatening to light her on fire because of what the victim claimed was a bad test grade, charges say. Photo: Tyler Packer / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm Photo: Tyler Packer / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Charges: Mom pours gasoline on daughter, flicks lighter, for bad grade 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A 44-year-old mother is accused of dousing her teen daughter in gasoline and threatening to light her on fire because of what the victim claimed was a bad test grade, charges say.

The woman also reportedly struck the 14-year-old girl with a tire jack and whipped her with a phone charger cord before the teen ran away to seek help from neighbors, reports say.

Lisa Kyles was charged Nov. 16 with attempted first-degree assault and felony harassment, both with domestic violence qualifiers. She pleaded not guilty to the crimes Tuesday in King County Superior Court.

Federal Way police were called to an apartment complex in the 31200 block of 20th Avenue South Nov. 10 on reports that a mother threatened to light her daughter on fire with gasoline before taking off in a van, according to Detective Richard Kim. The 911 caller also reported that the mother returned and threatened to light the caller's apartment on fire.

While police were on their way to the apartment complex, they learned that the woman left the area on foot. They arrived to find five to seven people gathered near the complex and smelled gasoline.

A 14-year-old girl "appeared to be visibly shaken and was crying" and told police that her head and hand hurt from being assaulted by her mother, Kim wrote.

The girl told police that about 5:30 p.m. she was in her Kyle's parked van with her 22-year-old brother when the brother berated her for a grade she earned on a school test. While the mother was organizing the van, the older brother reportedly hit the 14-year-old girl 18 to 20 times in the head over a period of three hours, Federal Way police reports indicate.

The brother left for work about 8:30 p.m. and allegedly told Kyles, "You handle this!" Kyles then argued with the girl about her grades and hit her three times on her right knee and shin with a tire jack, Kim wrote. The girl also claimed her mom hit her on the left hand with the tire jack five to eight times.

Reports say that Kyles then grabbed a phone charger cord and jumper cable and whipped the girl on her right shoulder.

Kyles went on to grab a gas canister from the back seat and doused her with gasoline, covering her clothes and arm, police reports say. The woman then allegedly flicked a lighter near the girl's clothing and threatened to light her on fire. Fearing for her life, the girl, opened the van door and ran toward the apartments.

The girl reportedly ran toward two women in the parking lot, yelling, "Help me, she's trying to set me on fire!" and "She's gonna kill me!" according to Kim's report. Kyles tried to chase after her daughter, but one of the witnesses reportedly stowed the girl away in her apartment to wait for police.

One of the witnesses told police she confronted Kyles about pouring gasoline on the girl, but Kyles threatened to set the witness and her apartment on fire and said, "It's my daughter and I can do as I please!"

Authorities found that the girl suffered a swelling forehead from being punched by her older brother, reports say. The teen also reported pain to her right leg and left palm from the tire jack blows.

The girl was taken to St. Francis Hospital for treatment before Child Protective Services took custody of her.

Officers arrested Kyles the next day. Kim wrote that Kyles admitted to striking her daughter with a closed fist on her head, but denied pouring gasoline on her, whipping her with a cord or striking her with a tire jack. She also claimed she didn't threaten anyone else, reports say.

Kyles told detectives she argued with her daughter over photos she found in the girl's phone.

She is held in King County Jail on $150,000 bail.

Correction: This story was updated to say the 22-year-old sibling was the alleged victim's brother.

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