On April 29th, 2026, a Bibb County jury found Christopher Ivry guilty on all counts, including Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, and Tampering with Evidence, stemming from a December 17, 2018, domestic violence attack in which Ivry doused his former girlfriend with gasoline and set her on fire using a cigarette lighter.
Ivry was subsequently sentenced to 40 years in the Georgia Department of Corrections. The attack occurred after a morning that began routinely. Ivry and the victim had breakfast together at a local Waffle House. Later that day, at Ivry’s request, the victim drove him to purchase gasoline for his truck.
An argument broke out during the trip and continued when the pair returned to the residence. In a moment of frustration, the victim kicked a gas can on the ground. Ivry responded by seizing the can, pouring the contents on the victim, and igniting her with a lighter.
Engulfed in flames, the victim ran to her vehicle and drove herself toward help. Ivry entered the passenger seat and told her she would “be alright.” During the drive, he pressured her to tell authorities that her injuries were self-inflicted. When the victim refused, Ivry exited the vehicle and called 911, falsely portraying himself as a victim and placing blame entirely on her.
Following his arrest, Ivry mounted a sustained campaign to obstruct justice. By July 2019, investigators began receiving communications from the victim’s phone requesting that charges be dropped. Further investigation revealed that Ivry had been impersonating the victim by sending Facebook messages from her profile to his own account in an attempt to align her story with his version of events.
Ivry twice fled to avoid court proceedings, requiring law enforcement to apprehend him as a fugitive before he could be brought to trial. At trial, his account shifted repeatedly, from claiming he set himself on fire, to asserting the victim had accidentally ignited herself, to ultimately testifying that he caught fire first and she was burned by contact with fur coats he was wearing.
He described the entire incident, including the victim’s severe burns, as a personal “blessing in disguise” because his subsequent arrest allowed him to receive surgery he could not otherwise have afforded. The victim testified consistently and courageously throughout the proceedings. She shared that it was only through intensive therapy that she came to fully understand and accept that she was a victim of domestic violence.
“This victim endured not only a horrific physical attack, but years of manipulation, intimidation, and psychological abuse designed to silence her and shield her attacker from accountability, “said District Attorney Anita Howard. “
Christopher Ivry demonstrated a complete and chilling disregard for human life, and this sentence reflects the gravity of what he chose to do. Justice has been served, and we thank this victim for her courage to speak the truth.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Ehoule and Assistant Deputy Chief District Attorney Jeremy Johnson.
