News Article - 6/17/2006

Investigators Discover Body In Rubble

CORWITH TWP.--Investigators from the Michigan State Police are working to determine the identity and cause of death of the victim of a Thursday night structure fire in a remote area of Corwith Township. The cause of the fire also remains under investigation.

MSP Gaylord post commander Lt. Blake Davis said Friday afternoon attempts were being made to contact the next of kin to help in identifying the victim, whom authorities believe to be a man.

Annette Apperson, a neighbor to the 6420 Whitehouse Trail cabin where the fire and fatality occurred, said Friday morning she assisted a woman who came to her home identifying herself as the fiance of the victim. Apperson said the unidentified woman told her the victim allegedly set the small cabin on fire and then shot himself in front of her. Apperson indicated she had never met the couple, who she said stayed a few times a year at the isolated cabin, located on a two-track trail about a quarter-mile off Whitehouse Trail.

Lt. Davis declined to comment on whether the fire was intentionally started by the victim or how he died. Davis said "all possibilities would be investigated."

A news release from the Gaylord MSP Post indicated the victim had been found inside the structure, which was engulfed in flames when troopers and firefighters arrived on the scene Thursday. Firefighters from the Corwith Township Fire Dept. were unable to save the structure, which burned to the ground. Corwith Township firefighters and Dale Hardy, MSP Fire Investigation Unit officer, were still on the scene investigating the cause of the fire on Friday afternoon.

The MSP news release said troopers were dispatched to 6420 Whitehouse Trail, approximately one-half mile north of Whitmarsh Road and six miles southeast of Vanderbilt, around 11:20 p.m. to investigate a structure fire where possible gunshots had been heard.

Apperson told a reporter Friday morning she had heard two shots prior to the fire and that around 11:10 p.m. the victim's girlfriend knocked at her door asking for help, allegedly telling Apperson, "My fiance shot himself," and "I can't believe he did that."

"I was folding laundry when I heard a truck in the driveway and then she came to the door," said Apperson. "She was very hysterical and kept saying over and over that he shot himself in the head. She also said something about a fire, but I couldn't see anything, and while I was trying to calm her down there were two loud explosions and we could see flames rising above the tops of the trees."

Apperson said her 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, who had called 911 only moments earlier to report the alleged shooting, called back to report the fire.

Troopers reported Friday the sound of gunfire may have been from ammunition set off by the heat of the fire. Apperson said the distraught woman flinched whenever she heard the sound of ammunition exploding.

"We prayed with her while we waited for the police to come, :said Apperson. "I tried to calm her down and gave her a Bible to read and had her take it with her when she was taken to the hospital." She was taken by ambulance to Otsego Memorial Hospital. Without the woman's name, no information was available at press time on her condition.

Apperson said the woman did not appear to be injured and, when asked by troopers if she was hurt, allegedly; had replied, "I hurt in my mind and heart." Apperson said she had been told by the woman the couple were supposed to be married in September.

News Article - 6/21/2006

AWAITING AUTOPSY
Victim's Name Withheld Until Results Forwarded

Gaylord--Authorities say it could be up to two weeks before autopsy results are available for identifying the name and the cause of death for the victim whose body was found in a structure fire last week in a remote area of Corwith Township.

Michigan State Police Det./Sgt. Kevin Day, who is leading the investigation, said an autopsy of the victim's remains is necessary to make a positive identification. Day said the Gaylord MSP Post will not be releasing the name of the victim until it has received autopsy results.

On Tuesday Day said forensic pathologist Dr. Brian Hunter had completed an autopsy of the remains Monday at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. Day said the family of the of the individual whom they have reason to believe died in the fire also has been located and notified of the death.

Investigators with the Gaylord MSP Fire Investigation Unit are still investigating the cause of Thursday's late night blaze and are expected to have the investigation completed by the beginning of next week.

The fire was reported around 11:20 p.m. after an unknown woman, identifying herself at a neighbor's home as the fiance of the victim, allegedly claimed he had set fire to the small cabin, located about a quarter-mile off of Whitehouse Trail and north of Whitmarsh Road, then shot himself in the head.

Day said the woman, whom he declined to identify, had been released from Otsego Memorial Hospital where she had been taken Thursday night. Neighbor Annette Apperson, who gave aid to the unidentified woman, said although she did not seem to be injured, she was hysterical when she came to Apperson's door.

Firefighters from the Corwith Township Fire Dept. and Otsego County Fire Dept.. Battled the blaze, which was engulfed in flames when they arrived. They were unable to save the structure.

A MSP news release said troopers were dispatched to the cabin at 6420 Whitehouse Trail, about six miles southeast of Vanderbilt, to investigate a structure fire where possible gunshots had been heard. Troopers reported the sound of gunfire may have been from ammunition set off by the heat of the fire.

Apperson said she had heard two shots prior to the fire and that around 11:10 p.m. the victim's girlfriend knocked at her door seeking help.