Investigation reveals suicide-victim set house fire
A man who apparently shot himself in the front yard of a Cape Coral home had set fire to the home using gasoline prior to his death, according to state fire officials.
Richard E. Tull Jr., 73, used gasoline as an accelerant to intentionally burn down the home at 2101 S.E. 36th Terrace before apparently shooting and killing himself outside the home Dec. 18, according to findings by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The home belonged to Tull’s girlfriend, Norma Young, who owns the local jewelry store Diamonds by Dianne Inc.
Tull was living at the home with Young, according to police.
Young had declined public comment on the incident.
At 1:30 p.m., firefighters responded to the home, fully engulfed in flames, and extinguished the blaze. The fire caused an estimated $1 million in damages to the home, said city spokesperson Connie Barron.
Ember, an accelerant-sniffing dog with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, discovered two locations in the home where gasoline was present during an investigation, Barron said.
A family cat was removed from the home and placed in a pet carrier by Tull prior to his death, she said.
Investigation reveals suicide-victim set house fire
A man who apparently shot himself in the front yard of a Cape Coral home had set fire to the home using gasoline prior to his death, according to state fire officials.
Richard E. Tull Jr., 73, used gasoline as an accelerant to intentionally burn down the home at 2101 S.E. 36th Terrace before apparently shooting and killing himself outside the home Dec. 18, according to findings by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The home belonged to Tull’s girlfriend, Norma Young, who owns the local jewelry store Diamonds by Dianne Inc.
Tull was living at the home with Young, according to police.
Young had declined public comment on the incident.
At 1:30 p.m., firefighters responded to the home, fully engulfed in flames, and extinguished the blaze. The fire caused an estimated $1 million in damages to the home, said city spokesperson Connie Barron.
Ember, an accelerant-sniffing dog with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, discovered two locations in the home where gasoline was present during an investigation, Barron said.
A family cat was removed from the home and placed in a pet carrier by Tull prior to his death, she said.
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