Spontaneous human combustion killed OAP, rules Irish coroner

[Djones]

Spontaneous human combustion killed OAP, rules Irish coroner
http://www.asylum.co.uk/2011/09/24/spontaneous-human-combustion-killed-oap-rules-irish-coroner/



A pensioner who burned to death in his home, died as a result of the unverified phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion, a coroner has ruled.

76-year-old Michael Flaherty was found at his home in Galway in December of last year, lying on his back, his body completely burned.

And while there was a fireplace in the room, forensic experts concluded this did not contribute to his death and that no accelerants had been found at the scene.

Bizarrely, the fire had been confined to the sitting room and the only damage was to the ceiling directly above his burnt body and the floor underneath him.

Because there were no devices which could have ignited the body, or any indication of foul play, coroner Dr Kieran McLoughlin said he was left with no option but to return the very unusual verdict.

"This fire was thoroughly investigated and I'm left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation," he said.

According to Wikipedia, there have been 200 cited cases of spontaneous human combustion over the last 300 years.

Suggested explanations include the influence of paranormal entities, the production of unusual concentrations of gas in the body, and external sources of ignition such as a dropped cigarette.

Read more: http://www.asylum.co.uk/2011/09/24/spontaneous-human-combustion-killed-oap-rules-irish-coroner/#ixzz1YtL1nLDC

[JazzRoc]

The most common factors of "spontaneous human combustion" are:
i) Age
ii) Prior death
iii) proximity to an open gas fire/electric fire, or any other amazingly-constant source of low-grade heat.

The person dies in a chair close to the fire. The fire keeps burning. The corpse and its clothing dries out. The nearest piece of clothing to the fire begins to smoulder.
Fat from the corpse tissues (even muscle flesh is 35% fat) migrates to feed the fire. The corpse burns...

In this case, the gas/electric was cut off - later.