Burned Teacher Evelyn Spodnik Dies, Police To Charge Man With Murder

A badly bued Holdeess elementary school teacher who died from her injuries Friday had been lit on fire by the man she was living with, police said.

Evelyn Spodnik, 57, a Holdeess Central School reading teacher, died Friday at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, according to Attoey General Michael Delaney. An autopsy on Saturday concluded that she died of injuries as a result of her bus.

Delaney said he expects to charge Barry Winters, 60, with first-degree murder. Winters is accused of pouring gasoline on Spodnik and lighting her on fire, according to an attoey general's office news release.

Spodnik and Winters were living together in a house at 284 Rowentown Road in Wentworth and were both severely bued in a fire that police initially labeled as suspicious.

Winters has not been arrested because he remained in critical condition at a Boston hospital suffering from self-inflicted, severe bu injuries, Delaney said.

Friends of Spodnik said she was a cheerful, loving woman.

"She always wanted to be with people. If you ever had a problem she was the one to be there, not push you away," said longtime friend Mary White. "She wanted to make sure you were above and beyond where you wanted to be."

School administrators said Spodnik had just finished up her final year teaching at the Holdeess Central School. The school's principal said she had worked closely with students who faced reading challenges.

"She worked with kids from kindergarten to fourth grade primarily and was really a very valuable asset to our school," said Principal William Van Bennekum. "A very specific position for a very specific duty."

Administrators said Spodnik was well-liked, not just by students and staff, but also parents. Van Bennekum said she did her job so well that the community rallied behind her to keep her position funded for years.

"Our first year here, the position was vulnerable because it's a support position," he said. "But we had several parents come out to the town meeting that year and actually put the position back in because they had direct success with her program."

Now the Wentworth community is left asking questions.

"They just want to know why, how," White said.