The Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office has ruled out homicide in the
death of a Muldrow man, but has not ruled out spontaneous human
combustion following the state medical examiner’s findings a day later.
Preliminary autopsy results were released to authorities Tuesday
(Feb. 19) on the 65-year-old man the sheriff believes may have died from
spontaneous human combustion.
Preliminary autopsy results stated Danny Vanzandt died of heat and
smoke inhalation, sustaining burns to his trachea, as if he had been
ingesting fire, Sheriff Ron Lockhart said.
The medical examiner’s report shows the victim may have burned for 10 hours, Lockhart said.
Vanzandt’s body was sent Monday to the state medical examiner’s
office in Tulsa for an autopsy after emergency crews responded to
Vanzandt’s home on Bawcon Road on Monday morning.
Fire crews on the scene discovered a badly burned man dead in the
kitchen. Lockhart said the signs pointed to spontaneous human combustion
as the cause of death, since no nearby items or furniture around the
body were burned. There was no other fire damage to the house and no
signs of a struggle, Lockhart said.
Vanzandt’s brother, Aaron, tells 5NEWS he and his stepson found the body around 11 a.m. and called 911.
“The body was burned and it was incinerated,” Lockhart said. “This is a case that I’ve never seen before.”
Asked if he was serious that this might be a case of spontaneous
human combustion, the sheriff said he is serious, adding, “I think
there’s only about 200 cases worldwide, and I’m not saying this
happened. I’m just saying that we haven’t ruled it out.”
Family members said they noticed the back window of the man’s pickup
truck was busted out. Authorities are still investigating the incident.
Lockhart said the victim was an alcoholic and an avid smoker.
5NEWS conducted a recorded five-minute interview with Lockhart in
which the sheriff explains why he believes spontaneous human combustion
might have been a factor in the death. Asked whether the victim could
have accidentally killed himself by another cause, such as dropping a
cigarette onto himself, Lockhart said the body was burned in such a way
as to make it inconsistent with such accidents.
Source: 5 News Online
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