Watch: Deadly House Blast in Comstock Park, MI, Appears Domestic-Related
John Agar
mlive.com
(TNS)
KENT COUNTY, MI – Investigators believe that a house explosion in Comstock Park was intended as a murder-suicide, Kent County Undersheriff Bryan Muir said Tuesday, May 26.
He said investigators believe the husband ignited a blast that engulfed the house in flames and critically injured his wife who was pulled out of the fire by two neighbors.
The man’s body was found several hours later in the wreckage but his identity has not yet been confirmed by the Kent County Medical Examiner.
The fire was reported around 4 a.m. Tuesday in the 5700 block of Rollaway Avenue NE, near Seven Mile Road.
“We have determined at this point this (appears) to be a domestic-related situation at the home and that the fire was intentionally set what we believe by the husband at this point intending to be a murder-suicide at the residence,” Muir said at a press conference.
He said detectives have obtained “some text messages, exchanges, as well as some statements that are recovered at the scene from the female associated with the residence before she was transported” to the hospital.
“That gave us the indication that this was going to be an isolated incident. Both those people had lived in the residence and again, I can’t tell you how long they’ve lived in the residence … .”
He said that the victim’s family is “hoping for the best” as she undergoes treatment for serious burns.
Plainfield Township fire Chief Jeremy Kelly said investigators believe that natural gas was intentionally released in the basement. The ignition source has not been determined.
Muir said that the woman would not have survived the fire if she hadn’t been pulled out by Tim Johnson, 70, and a teen whose family declined comment.
Johnson, who suffered burns to his arm and head, said the woman pleaded for help as fire raged around her.
“Some heroic efforts by the neighbors to get her from that home,” Muir said.
State police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents are assisting with the investigation.
The two-story house was engulfed in flames and largely leveled when firefighters arrived, just minutes after the fire was reported.
The explosion rocked nearby houses and blew out windows. About 50 people called 911.
The scene “looked like a war zone,” neighbor Andrew Karll said. “The whole neighborhood was lit up in orange and red, with fire totally engulfing the house.”
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