Spontaneous Human Combustion...

[BillMe45]

As reported by Huffington Post 02-21-2013

Authorities investigating the death of a 65-year-old man in Muldrow, Okla., haven't thrown water on a bizarre theory for the tragedy: Spontaneous human combustion (SHC).


On Monday, members of Danny Vanzandt's family found his dead body inside his home burned and incinerated in such a manner that suggests he may have spontaneously combusted, according to Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart.


"I think there's only about 200 cases worldwide and I'm not saying that this has happened. I'm just saying that we haven't ruled it out," Lockhart told KSDK-TV, emphasizing there was no damage to the house and no signs of struggle.

"There was no damage to the furniture or anything around the fire, so it was a low heat fire," he told the station.


Lockhart said the victim was an alcoholic and an avid smoker, factors that may have contributed to the body blaze.




Lockhart, who attended the autopsy Tuesday at the state Medical Examiner's Office in Tulsa, told TulsaWorld.com that there is no evidence of foul play.


"You could pour gasoline on somebody and he wouldn't be as badly incinerated," said Lockhart, a former arson investigator with the Fort Smith (Ark.) Police Department.

 

[BillMe45]

As reported by KFSM 5NewsOnline

An eastern Oklahoma man’s death in February has been ruled the result of a heart attack, after the county sheriff initially said he believed spontaneous human combustion was to blame, according to the medical examiner’s report released Tuesday.


Danny Vanzandt, 65, of Muldrow, likely died of a heart attack after which his body was burned, possibly by a cigarette, the report states.


“The lack of soot within the airway and a negative carboxyhemoglobin level within the procured blood sample suggests death prior to the fire,” the medical examiner’s report states. “These findings are not consistent with someone breathing in smoke in the moments preceding death.


The autopsy report goes on to state that Vanzandt suffered from moderate to severe coronary artery disease.


“The findings of the examination are most consistent with the decendent dying (likely of this heart condition) and then being involved posthumously in the fire which consumed most of his body,” the report states.


Vanzandt’s body was almost completely consumed by fire before being found. His body weight at the medical examiner’s office came in at 40 pounds, according to the autopsy report.