Ladies and gentlemen, we invite you to solve the mystery of scientific murder. A man with first, second and third degree burns was found dead in his home, and at first it seemed that it was a spontaneous combustion. No evidence of combustible propellant was found around, and no one else was in the house at the time. But what happened?
Phantom fire
According to the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, the 53-year-old man was found lying on the floor between two metal trestles, benches used to do housework. However, there was no sign of faulty electrical wiring, if that's what you thought.
Initially, investigators thought he caught fire elsewhere and came to the house to seek help or go into hiding. However, no one could definitively figure out what happened.
Then forensic investigators from Genova University noticed something peculiar.
More than 70 percent of his body was covered in severe burns, especially on his left leg and right thumb. The Panel noted that these specific burn moments were surprising given that some of his body was left untouched by the phantom fire.
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Thunderstorm victim
Metal tools scattered around the room hinted that something rather unusual had happened, and when the team noticed steel beams running through the core of the cottage on the outside of the house, the mystery was revealed.
After testing their hypothesis with the help of meteorologists, the researchers confirmed that at the time of the death of the man, there was indeed a strong thunderstorm over the area where he lived. As a result, the steel beams attracted lightning, which passed through them to the locksmith tools surrounding the man, and in the blink of an eye was thrown onto him. The lightning went through the left leg, up the body, right through the heart, and then the charge came out of the thumb of the right hand. Thus, this man became a victim of a lightning strike.
Should you be afraid of a lightning strike
According to the US National Weather Service, where the accident occurred, the chance of being struck by lightning in any year is one in 1,042,000. This is extremely low, and in addition, almost every person struck by lightning has been struck outside while in the rain. …
What are the chances of being struck by lightning while in the house? In fact, you are much more likely to die in the jaws of a crocodile, under the wheels of a lawn mower, or during sex. So if you're not an overly keen metalhead, then you probably shouldn't worry too much about it.
However, it is noteworthy that this is not the first recorded death of this kind. Some people are not afraid to use a landline phone during a thunderstorm, and in some cases, a lightning strike can move on the phone, so to speak, and hit the head.
Anna Pismenna