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Obituaries

Francine Wilson | 'Burning Bed' subject, 69

Francine Wilson, 69, whose Michigan spousal-abuse case was the subject of a 1984 television movie starring Farrah Fawcett called The Burning Bed , has died.

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Francine Wilson, 69, whose Michigan spousal-abuse case was the subject of a 1984 television movie starring Farrah Fawcett called

The Burning Bed

, has died.

One of her children, Jim Hughes, said Friday that she died at a hospital March 22 of complications from pneumonia. A service was held Wednesday in Florence, Ala., for Ms. Wilson, who had been living in nearby Leighton.

Ms. Wilson, whose last name was Hughes at the time, killed her husband, James "Mickey" Hughes, in 1977 by setting fire to their Dansville, Mich., home while he slept.

At her trial, Ms. Wilson described years of abuse at the hands of her husband. Her defense attorney, Arjen Greydanus, said Friday that Ms. Wilson's testimony about the horrors she endured was effective and the jury found her not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. - AP