FBI - records » Selbstentzündung

Spontaneous Human Combustion

In Miami, Florida on July 2, 1951, the apartment of Mrs Mary Hardy Reeser located at 1200 Cherry Street, Northeast, burned. Reeser was burned completely except for her left foot. Her entire body was cremated, burning the left leg completely in to about four inches above her ankle, leaving the foot. The chair in which she was sitting burned completely away, leaving the springs. A small end table next to the chair was completely burned except for two legs. The carpet was burned in an area of approximately three feet. The ceiling and walls showed signs of extreme heat approximately four feet from the floor. The wall switches were melted, but the floor plug-ins were not harmed. She was wearing a black nylon acetate nightgown and robe, and hardly any traces were found of them. They located a skull shrunk to the size of a teacup. Reeser was described as a white female, 67 years of age, five feet seven inches tall, and weighing approximately 170 pounds. The laboratory examination showed no signs of oxidizing chemicals, petroleum hydrocarbons, or other substances used to initiate or accelerate combustion. Part of a cigarette lighter was found in the rubble. The FBI Laboratory was contacted by the police department to examine evidence. The FBI was also contacted numerous times by people writing in and giving the Bureau their opinions of what had happed to Reeser.


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