Mexico City Mexico - Anita Lopez knocked on the door to her mother's house on the morning of June 12th. Getting no answer she used her key to open the back door. Once inside she became alarmed when she smelled smoke. Calling her mothers name she rushed into the small living room of the apartment and began screaming when she spied what was left of Mrs. Maria Lopez's burnt body laying on the floor near the TV. She managed to call the police and then fled the apartment complex to await them outside.

Police and paramedics were stunned when they saw the body. With the exception of part of the head, a foot and one arm, the body had been reduced to ash and cinders. Even more amazing was the fact that most of the room was unburned. The chair she had been sitting in was partially burnt, the carpet underneath her was damaged and the wall nearest the body had scorch marks but the TV only 3 feet away was undamaged.

Medical coroner Nick Sousiata at first thought that the victim had been murdered and burnt elsewhere and then taken back to the apartment. He dismissed this however when no other evidence was uncovered. Anita Lopez told police that her 73 year old mother had no enemies she knew of . There was also no evidence of robbery in the home. Suicide was also ruled out since there was no evidence of gasoline or other flammables. Maria Lopez did smoke cigarettes and this lead to the final cause of death being ruled as self-accidental. According to authorities, Maria Lopez had fell asleep while smoking a cigarette and caught herself on fire.

But did she? Anita Lopez stated that her mother never smoked in the house because she didn't like the way it made the house smell. Further supporting the argument was the fact that no ashtray was found near the body. Not satisfied with the verdict handed down by the coroner reporter Martha Gonzales of the local tabloid paper "The Voice" had heard about spontaneous human combustion and called Michael Bardum in Leeds England to see if this accident fit the parameters of a SHC event. Bardum had recently been on the Mexican TV show "Unexplainable" where he had briefly discussed the subject.

Bardum heard the evidence from Gonzales and asked for copies of the police photos to be sent to him via e-mail. He called Martha back on June 21st and told her that much of the evidence did support a SHC event. Gonzales reported this information to the coroner who declined to comment or change his verdict.

Some of the facts which support the theory that Maria Lopez died of Spontaneous Human Combustion are:

A high intensity heat source which reduced most of her body to ashes. To reduce human bones to ashes in a crematorium requires a flame of over 950 C. But even with that amount of heat bones remain and have to be pounded by iron balls to reduce them to ash. In normal fires, flames 'dance' over the top layers of skin but do not penetrate which produces charring but not a complete burning. A small area of the hallway wall outside the room had been stripped of plaster. This, the fire-fighters said, is indicative of a intense flash fire which dries out plaster and makes it lose it's bonding. Such an intense heat is uncommon in house fires and is very uncommon to put itself out.

The fact that much of the room was undamaged by the fire. SHC's often have the fire damage regulated to the body and a small area surrounding it. Indeed the rubber tires of a nearby exercise bike was untouched and the TV only a few feet away still worked when tested. Even more puzzling is the fact that one shoe was singed but unburnt and the hair on the deceased woman's head was partially unburned. Both of these items have a much lower kindling rate than human bone.

The lack of ventilation in the room. Crematoriums require large fans to keep giving the fire a fresh oxygen source. Maria Lopez's apartment had no open windows and the door was closed and locked. Such an intense fire should have quickly used up the available oxygen in the small room and that alone would have extinguished itself.

The truth may never be known as Anita had her mother's remains buried and the coroner considers the case closed.

sources

-'Mother Is Killed By a Fire From Within" The Voice newsmagazine, Mexico City Mexico, Martha Gonzales reporter; June 23rd 1999

-phone interview with Martha Gonzales, July 10th, 1999

photo courtesy of The Voice newsmagazine and the Mexico City Police Department