AUTOPSY AND INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS ON THE DEATH OF CHIEF NEGOTIATOR

08/23/02 | Harris County Medical Examiner's Office, Houston Fire Department Fire/Arson Investigations

[Victoria Delsoul]

CHIEF Negotiator's death was ruled as accidental due to smoke inhalation.

Thanks for the report, Cob. I still have a hard time believing that his death was accidental.

[goodieD]

Thank you so much for the report. Something definitely smells here... wonder if we'll ever find out the truth.

[Molly Pitcher]

Thanks for the update. Still miss the Chief. One of the first screen names I remember.

It just doesn't add up.

[ofMagog]

*** sad bump ***

[Freedom2specul8]

Thank you for the update..

[Freedom2specul8]

What's the status on the neighbor?

[The Thin Man]

COB1, thanks for the report even though it's very sad to read. Also, it's unfortunate that there are some questions still unanswered.

[COB1]

"Were there no head injuries listed in the autopsy report?"

From the report:

"There no scalp or subgaleal hemorrages noted.

-------------

There is marked singeing with reddish discoloration of the hair, predominately on the lateral aspects of the head.
There is patchy sloughing of the hair of the inferolateral right occipital region and the right posterior parietooccipital region.
The inferior left occipital scalp has scalp sloughing with exposed red-brown dermis."

[Dog Gone]

I still don't know what to think. I recall an earlier report that the television was a possible ignition source, but unless it was in Dining Room, that seems unlikely. Whatever it was caught Chief by surprise, and the smoke was so intense that he quickly got disoriented.

A firebomb would not have gone off directly inside the wall of the dining room. It would have been against the far wall or center, at the very least.

But this still doesn't seem like it should be that hard to solve. What could possibly have been an ignition source against that Dining Room wall?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Bump!

[COB1]

"Does this mean case not entirely closed?"

Ru, the notes I posted were made before this report came out, by the Medical Examiner's Office.
As far as I know, this is it as far as the investigation goes.
There is still no cause of fire in the report!

[Freedom2specul8]

Thanks for sharing your story.

I didn't know him as well as you did... I respected him very much. Hearing about what happened was such a shock..

[Billthedrill]

A BTT for the Chief.

Peace. Pipe.

[MissAmericanPie]

Does the fire report say anything about a short in the wiring, or signs of an accelerant?

[amom]

Thanks.

Salute

Chief :`-{

[zip]

Thx for the update. My wife was asking about Chief N just this week and wondered if anything was ever resolved.

It looks like a poor job of investigating since even non professionals can see evidence of use of a petroleum based fluid to accelerate the flames.
Does anyone know the background of the neighbor that was mentioned early on? This is sad.

[monkeyshine]

What is your conclusion based on this information?

[COB1]

"Do you know if there was a bathroom window?"

Cricket, here's a view of the back of the house and that door that was kicked open, but it doesn't go back far enough to see if the bathroom has a window:

[carenot]

Thank you, Cob

[SarahW]

Looks more like an electrical fire, overheated wires, circuits, or appliance(s).

The breaker might not have tripped in time to prevent fire from an overloaded circuit or electrical fault in an appliance. The breaker eventually tripped, but the wiring or appliance could have been hot enough to ignite or had already ignited because.

Ask Mrs CN if the breakers tripped often. If this happened a lot, the circuits were chronically overloaded and they could have been damaged over time.


Any appliance on the tripped circuits that was in the area would be suspect. Without a wiring diagram its impossible to do anything but speculate, but a TV, a water heater, a dryer, anything that drew current from wires that went through the dining room is suspect.

I'm thinking Herb maybe caught fire or was burned, and he rushed to the bathroom ...only to be overcome by smoke.