Police say pair set each other afire in fight. Homeless couple seriously injured

[Ian David]

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | March 17, 2007

Ludie Jacobs and Jeanette Wiggins carried their possessions in a dilapidated suitcase, slept under the night sky on makeshift beds, and often joked to friends about their wedding plans.

"Oh, they've been talking about getting married for more than five years," said Robyn Collins, a homeless woman, standing near the Dudley Square MBTA Station. "He was supposed to be the best man," she said, pointing at a man who was sprinting across Washington Street.

Police say Jacobs and Wiggins, who are both homeless, got into a fight yesterday at 9 a.m. and apparently set each other on fire behind a two-story, red-brick building near Ruggles and Washington Streets.

Both were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital: Wiggins is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries; Jacobs suffered serious burns, but is expected to survive. Initial police reports indicate that lighter fluid may have been used.

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Jacobs and Wiggins are well known in Dudley Square. They have drifted between homeless shelters and lots and parks for at least a decade, and both battled alcohol dependency, many of their friends said yesterday. Jacobs, 60, and Wiggins, believed to be in her mid-40s, often received items such as blankets from regular passersby. Wiggins has three children, and Jacobs has four, most of whom live in the Boston area, but are not homeless, the friends said.

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