Bethlehem police are investigating the discovery of burned body found late Thursday, July 23, near a burning car on Lyons Road by the Henry Hudson Town Park in Selkirk.
However, police are ruling out homicide at this time.
Lieutenant Thomas Heffernan said after hearing his detectives report, the Bethlehem police are not pursuing criminal charges in the incident.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Heffernan, but he identified the body found as that of a middle-aged Bethlehem man.
`We recieved a call just before 3 p.m. on Thursday for a car fire on Lyons Road,` Heffernan told The Spotlight. `Upon arrival we found a man obviously deceased.`
Heffernan said an autopsy report revealed that the man died from `carbon monoxide inhalation from an automobile fire.`
He said the vehicle was fully engulfed when the Selkirk Fire Department and other emergency crews arrived and that the man found frequented the town park. The matter remains an open investigation at this time, he added.
On November 4, 2008, police found the burned body of 39-year-old Michael Freeman of Menands in the same area on Winnie Road and that death was ultimately ruled a suicide.
For updates on this breaking story, check back at www.spotlightnews.com and see the July 29 print edition of The Spotlight.“