Andover man accused of setting roommate on fire is convicted of murder

An Andover man accused of setting his roommate on fire last year was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder Thursday by an Anoka County jury and faces sentencing on Friday.

The trial of Adam John Lilienthal began earlier this month. The jury deliberated about two hours before returning the verdicts.

Lilienthal, now 30, was charged in June 2014 with three counts of second-degree murder after allegedly pouring gasoline on Scott D. Yorek, 55, then setting him on fire. A grand jury later indicted Lilienthal on the first-degree murder charges.

It was Yorek who, before being placed in a medically induced coma at Hennepin County Medical Center, identified the suspect to medical workers, according to court documents.

When Anoka County deputies responded to a report of a man having been set on fire, they found Yorek lying naked on the front steps of the house. His clothes had burned off, and his body was covered with severe burns, authorities said.

"I can't believe Adam tried to kill me," Yorek told deputies, according to court documents, and also said, "Why did Adam do this to me?"

Yorek had been renting a room from Lilienthal at the time of the killing. The complaint said there had been recent tensions between the two over living arrangements.

Fire personnel who came to the house said the scene indicated that Yorek was likely lying on or standing near a bed upstairs, according to the complaint.

Accelerant was poured over him and ignited, and his clothes burned off as he made his way to the outside door where deputies found him, the complaint continued.

Authorities statewide were notified in an attempt to find Lilienthal, who had fled the scene. He was arrested in the early morning hours of June 17, 2014, just south of Orr, Minn., where he owned a cabin.

Yorek, meanwhile, was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center burn unit, where he was found to have third-degree burns over 80 to 90 percent of his body. He died June 19, 2014.

Karen Zamora • 612-673-4647

Twitter: @KarenAnelZamora