A South Florida woman who was set on fire last month has returned to work in an attempt to get her life back to normal, and she says she is trying to forgive the man who she said attacked her.
Naomie Breton was shown on surveillance video last month at a Boynton Beach 7-Eleven as she tried to escape from a man identified as her ex-boyfriend. Police said the man, whom they identified as Roosevelt Mondesir, poured gas on her and lit her on fire.
"When I first saw the knife and I saw the gallon, at first I was like, 'He's just trying to scare me.' And then when he started pouring it on the car, I'm like, 'OK, this is a lot realer than I thought,'" Breton said.
The video shows Breton in flames, frantically taking off her burning shirt.
Four weeks later, she is back to work and glad to be alive, even though she admits it's tough.
"For the most part, my spirits have stayed up," she said.
She is upbeat and not bitter about the man who police said did this to her.
"I almost feel sorry for him, because he threw away his life. He let jealousy and the devil get to him to the point he threw away his life," Breton said.
The worst part, she said, is explaining to the 4-year-old son she has with Mondesir.
"The baby, he still (says), 'I miss Daddy. I wish I could talk to him in the morning,'" Breton said.
Breton said she cries sometimes about the way she looks but reminds herself she is lucky to be alive.
"I'm not going to sit there and hold grudges over him. Like I tell my kids, when we pray at night, we pray for him. I don't want my kids to hold hate in their heart for him," she said.
Mondesir is charged with attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.