Body found in Minneapolis pawnshop that was torched in George Floyd protests

[rangerrebew]

 Body found in Minneapolis pawnshop that was torched in George Floyd protests

By Amanda Woods

July 21, 2020 | 7:41am
 

A charred body was found in the wreckage of a Minneapolis pawnshop this week — nearly two months after the building was burned down in the protests that followed George Floyd’s police-custody death.

Investigators were acting on a tip when they found the man’s body in the rubble of Max It Pawn on East Lake Street in south Minneapolis, police spokesman John Elder told the Star Tribune.

“The body appears to have suffered thermal injury and we do have somebody charged with setting fire to that place,” Elder told the paper.

 
https://nypost.com/2020/07/21/body-found-in-building-torched-during-george-floyd-protests/

[PeteS in CA]

So, whoever "processed" this crime scene, ummmm, missed something? Or did the building collapse and the body was found under the rubble?

[mountaineer]

Montez Terrill Lee, 25, of Rochester, Minn., was hit with a federal arson charge last month in connection with that blaze.

Gruesome. Looks like Montez will be facing some unforeseen murder charges, too.

[Sighlass]

Wonder how much murder bail runs, hope in the millions to defund the slush fund for these trash thugs.

[Applewood]

So, whoever "processed" this crime scene, ummmm, missed something? Or did the building collapse and the body was found under the rubble?

I'm going to guess the latter.  From the looks of the fire from the photo in the Post article, the building appears to have been fully engulfed and may have collapsed into a pile of rubble.  Hard to find anything until all that debris is cleared. 

[Smokin Joe]

I'm going to guess the latter.  From the looks of the fire from the photo in the Post article, the building appears to have been fully engulfed and may have collapsed into a pile of rubble.  Hard to find anything until all that debris is cleared.

Even crispy critters have an aroma in midsummer.

[Applewood]

Even crispy critters have an aroma in midsummer.

True.  But maybe the strong odor from the fire masked the smell of the body. 

When a childhood friend's house burned down several years ago, I went by the debris a few days later.  Now I don't have a good sense of smell and of course, the property was blocked off, so I couldn't get too close, but that odor was strong from across the street.  I can imagine it was worse up close and personal.

[Smokin Joe]

True.  But maybe the strong odor from the fire masked the smell of the body. 

When a childhood friend's house burned down several years ago, I went by the debris a few days later.  Now I don't have a good sense of smell and of course, the property was blocked off, so I couldn't get too close, but that odor was strong from across the street.  I can imagine it was worse up close and personal.

Yes, house fires have an aroma all their own, but so do decaying humans, and they are different odors, believe me.

[Applewood]

Yes, house fires have an aroma all their own, but so do decaying humans, and they are different odors, believe me.

I get that.  What I was trying to say is that the odor from the fire might have masked the odor from the dead body.

But hey -- what do I know?  I'm just trying to say there may have been a logical explanation as to why the investigators did not find the body right away.  Would not want them to be maligned as incompetent if there is a good reason why the body wasn't discovered immediately

But the body was found, he can now be buried and his loved ones, if he had any, can find peace.  And the *bleep* who set the blaze can be suitably punished, I hope.

[Smokin Joe]

I get that.  What I was trying to say is that the odor from the fire might have masked the odor from the dead body.

But hey -- what do I know?  I'm just trying to say there may have been a logical explanation as to why the investigators did not find the body right away.  Would not want them to be maligned as incompetent if there is a good reason why the body wasn't discovered immediately

But the body was found, he can now be buried and his loved ones, if he had any, can find peace.  And the *bleep* who set the blaze can be suitably punished, I hope.

If the fire was smoldering, if the area was avoided, if the body had not reached a sufficient level of decomposition, yes, the smoke and stink of the structural fire could have masked the smell of cooked meat, and later, initial decay.
It isn't incompetence, necessarily, and I did not mean to say that, but a lot of other things for investigators to do with 1000 burned out buildings, and the possible presumption everyone had gotten out. Examination of the remains may yet reveal that the person was deceased before the fire as a result of defending against a robbery, which is a possibility, too.

Yes, it is good that someone who was missing is accounted for and that loved ones and friends might find closure. The arsonist might not have been the killer, though, and may only be subject to additional charges of desecrating human remains, destruction of evidence, or something similar.