TYLER, Texas — Arrest documents show a Tyler man accused of killing his girlfriend threw gasoline on her and set the house on fire the same day he was to be evicted from the home.
Gregory Bargaineer, 67, turned himself into the Smith County Jail around 4 a.m. Monday in connection with a house fire on Shady Trail Drive. Following an investigation, he was charged with murder for the death of Marilyn Janis McEachin, who was found dead in a back room of the house, according to an arrest affidavit and police. He remains jailed on a $750,000 bond.
According to an arrest affidavit, firefighters responded to the blaze around 3:35 a.m. and Bargaineer arrived at the jail 20 minutes later, saying he threw gasoline on his girlfriend, McEachin. He then claimed at first that the house was not on fire when he left in his pickup truck. However, cameras at the house showed a flash of flight at the front door that continued to the back as well as flames. A person assumed to be Bargaineer could be seen leaving the house in his truck.
In his vehicle, police found a plastic gasoline container, lawn and garden tools, garbage bags with clothing and bedding and shoes inside, and a spare tire. In an interview, Bargaineer said that he moved from Florida in 2015 with another woman to Tyler, but when that relationship ended in 2019, he moved in with McEachin at her home on Shady Trail Drive. He described their relationship as a "common law living situation," according to the document.
Bargaineer claimed their relationship soured when McEachin's brother passed away this summer. He said there was never physical violence between himself and McEachin, but they had been in verbal arguments before, the affidavit said.
Also in the interview, he said that McEachin served him an eviction notice saying he needed to be out of home by Nov. 18 or 19. McEachin died and the fire happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 18. He claimed he had been trying to find housing through CampV, and he said he was already trying to pack his belongings. He said he begged McEachin for more time to find a place, the affidavit explained.
At that time, Bargaineer became aggressive and he called her stupid repeatedly, the document read.
Four days before the fire, McEachin filed a report about the eviction. She said that she was trying to evict Bargaineer, and since then, he was stalking her all over town. She reported to police that Bargaineer told her that if he was kicked out, he would end up back in prison, according to the document.
Bargaineer then told police that on Sunday, he was speaking with McEachin in her bedroom and she asked if he knew what day it was, referring to Nov. 18 being the day he was supposed to be gone. He said he was trying to convince her to let him stay longer. He then put her dog in the garage after her request, the document said.
He alleged to police that he saw McEachin holding a bucket with gasoline inside and a cup in her right hand. He claimed she used the cup to throw gas on McEachin. He then went on to say that she had a lighter in her right hand as well. He claimed that he ran out of the home in reaction to McEachin throwing gas at him. He says drove away down on Highway 271, but he headed to the Smith County Jail to seek help from McEachin's alleged threats of her family removing him from the house, the affidavit read.
Police confronted Bargaineer about the discrepancy in his statements and him saying he had thrown gas on to McEachin. He changed what he said to say that when McEachin threw gas on him, he pushed the cup and bucket back, which threw gas back on her. When confronted about video at the home, he denied that the house was on fire when he left. He later said he got out of the area because he didn't want to burn up too, the affidavit explained.
He did not ask about McEachin at all during the interview, police said.
"When Bargaineer was informed of Mceachin's death, (the detective) did not observe Bargaineer show any sign of emotion or distress at this news," the affidavit read.
Bargaineer said he had done many things in life, but he would not admit to anything related to McEachin. He said he spent 26 years in prison. A criminal history search found he was convicted of first degree murder in 1981 in Florida, the document said.
A trained K-9 found multiple spots of an accelerant around McEachin's body. The position and location of the body was not indicative of someone who was alive when the fire started. She was found laying on her back next to the bed, according to the affidavit.
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