UP TO late last night, two elderly women remained hospitalised in critical condition after one was chopped several times and the house in which they lived set on fire in Brokery district near Christiana, Manchester.

The police say 65-year-old Tessie Stubbs was chopped four times in the head by her husband Theophillus, 65, before he set the house on fire and fled.

The elderly women were reportedly attacked on the first floor of the two-storey house shortly before six o'clock Saturday evening.

They managed to reach downstairs in a bid to escape, but collapsed in a room near an exit.

Stubbs received burns to her hands and head, while her 81-year-old aunt, Pearline Miller, suffered burns to 90 per cent of her body.

The women were rescued from the burning building by residents who kicked in the door.

Divorce threat

Yesterday, the entire community remained sombre. The smell of burnt wood and concrete was still fresh in the atmosphere as the rains drizzled intermittently.

Inside the damaged building, Sharon Powell, Mrs. Stubbs' son, searched through the rubble in disbelief.

Christine Williams, a tenant living on the ground floor, said Stubbs and her husband were having marital problems and she had threatened to divorce him.

"The husband told me about three weeks ago: 'I goin' to do somet'ing and I'm goin' to sorry for you, you goin' to get a surprise'," said Williams.

Williams, a firefighter, told The Gleaner that Mr. Stubbs had threatened to burn down the house after he received correspondence about divorce proceedings being brought by his wife.

Powell also reported that Mr. Stubbs had issued similar threats.

He said he took them seriously and complained to the Christiana police about two weeks ago; however, they did not take action, Powell claims.

Contacted yesterday, the Christiana police could not immediately confirm receiving any a complaint.

Damage is estimated at $15 million.