The death of a woman found burning on a sidewalk on Friday was ruled as an accident, St. Louis Metropolitan Police said.
Officers responded to reports of a body fully engulfed in flames on a sidewalk in the Lewis Place neighborhood at around 3:30 a.m.
Crews extinguished the fire and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
After initially deeming the incident as “suspicious”, investigators reviewed surveillance footage that showed the woman setting a small fire and then accidentally falling into it.
Police said that drug paraphernalia and alcohol were found near the scene and that the woman was alone at the time of the tragic accident.
Lt. Terrell Robinson revealed that two passersby saw the “disturbing” incident and alerted the police.
He added that the victim was burned beyond recognition and investigators are trying to learn more about her.
“Over my past 34 and a half years, I’ve seen a lot. And it’s pretty disturbing to see someone pass away that way,” Robinson said.
“The body will be taken down to the Medical Examiner’s Office and the doctors there will perform their investigation and they’ll determine whether this was an accident or whether this was foul play.”
