LAKEWOOD PARK − A man found dead after a house fire July 6 in northern St. Lucie County is thought to have set the home ablaze before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro said July 14.
A 71-year-old man died in the incident in the 6300 block of East Seminole Road, Del Toro said. The address is just north of Lakewood Park Regional Park.
“A partially melted firearm was recovered underneath the decedent at the scene,” Del Toro said.
Del Toro said the agency typically does not provide briefings for suicide cases, but he said the case was high profile with questions regarding the death.
St. Lucie County Fire District crews about 10:15 a.m. July 6 went to the fire after neighbors reported flames and smoke coming from a nearby residence.
Del Toro said it appears the person whose home was burned was in a relationship with the man.
“That relationship was ending and this was his way of … not agreeing with how the relationship was ending and basically took matters into his own hands,” Del Toro said.
The person with whom he’d been in a relationship arrived shortly afterward.
“That’s when we started kind of piecing this together,” Del Toro said.
Del Toro said investigators found the man’s vehicle running with the air conditioning on and his dog inside not far away. He said it appears the man removed the dog and vehicle before returning to the home, starting the fire and dying by suicide.
St. Lucie County Fire District spokesperson Brenda Smith has said officials were called back to the scene about 4:20 a.m. July 7 for another fire.
In general, Del Toro said a second fire starting is not uncommon.
“Sometimes there’s hot spots at places that burn down,” he said. “With the wind and different things like that, sometimes the fires reignite, and I think that’s what happened there.”
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: New details surface in deadly Lakewood Park house fire; dog removed before blaze
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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