Brief Reports in Chronological Order
Date: August 5, 1982
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Chicago Fiery Death
The Legend:
On August 5, 1982, an unidentified Chicago woman was seen to burst into flames for no apparent reason as she was walking down a street. An eyewitness was quoted as saying they "saw her burning and then she fell."
Theories
Joe Nickell, in his book Secrets of the Supernatural, gives an account of this event he found in two articles from the Orlando Sentinel of August 6 & 10, 1982; copies of which I will locate. Nickell states that the initial reports that the woman had burst into flames was in a City News Bureau bulletin, as was the claim of the eyewitness; the CNB later added the suggestion of spontaneous human combustion as a cause. Later than the bulletin, however, the autopsy showed that the woman had been dead before she was burned, and the Chicago crime lab found traces of hydrocarbon accelerants on her clothing... which suggests murder, not SHC.
Sources:
- Now available on Request.
See Also:
