Woman dies after being critically burned at a home in Clearwater
UPDATE:
Woman’s Burns Appear To Be Self-Inflicted
A preliminary investigation conducted by Clearwater Police homicide detectives indicates that the burns that Rhonda Wolfe sustained late Wednesday were self-inflicted.
Two gas cans, along with a lighter, were found in the garage next to the victim. She also left a suicide note.
The autopsy conducted today by the Pasco-Pinellas Medical Examiner’s Office did not result in a final cause of death. That will be released once final toxicology tests are completed.
Original story
Clearwater Police and Clearwater Fire & Rescue investigators are on the scene where a woman was on fire late Wednesday. The 44-year-old woman who lives at 2880 Lemonwood St. was flown by helicopter to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg late Wednesday where she died from her injuries.
She suffered third-degree burns on 100 percent of her body. It remains unclear at this time how she came to be on fire. Representatives of both agencies, along with the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office forensics team, are expected to be at the scene overnight trying to determine what happened. The husband called the fire department at 10:47 p.m.; the police department was notified three minutes later.
Units arriving on scene located a woman in the garage of the home with severe burns over her entire body. The fire was extinguished prior to the fire department arriving.
The burned woman was declared a trauma alert and Bayflite was requested to respond. The landing zone was in the parking lot of Best Buy on Drew Street. She was transported to the Bayfront Hospital for further medical care.
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