Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 21, 1994 TAG: 9402210080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MADISON HEIGHTS LENGTH: Short
The bodies of Walter L. Coleman, 66, and his wife, Linda, 59, were found late Thursday.
Autopsy results released Saturday found Linda Coleman died before the fire broke out, although her husband was killed by the blaze, said Duval Doss, an investigator for the Amherst County Sheriff's Office.
"Based on preliminary autopsy findings, we are going to consider it a homicide," Doss said of Linda Coleman's death. "At this point we're not going to rule out anything."
When asked if Walter Coleman was a suspect in the killing of his wife, Doss said, "I don't know. Everyone is a suspect at this point."
Police declined to release the exact cause of Coleman's death, but said there was no evidence she died from gunshot or stab wounds.
Doss said he was not sure if the fire, which began at a kerosene heater, was arson or an accident.
At the trailer Saturday, detectives cut through the melted metal roof of the mobile home to gain better access to the burned interior. Officers pulled a blackened mattress from the scene and collected ashes and cinders for forensic study.
After controlling the fire Thursday, authorities found Linda Coleman's body on a mattress on the floor of the living room, which contained the kerosene heater, Doss said. Walter Coleman's body was found on the opposite side of the living room.
Neighbors said they heard no voices from inside the trailer before or during the fire.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB