Did Michael Faherty die from spontaneous human combustion?

For those who don’t know, spontaneous human combustion is the term used for when a person dies from bursting into flames. In these cases it is believed to be the body itself that catches fire from within.

The term originated in 1746 by Paul Rolli. He coined the phrase to explain the death of Countess Cornelia Zangheri Bandi.

Since then, there have been scores of cases where spontaneous human combustion has been cited as the cause of death. Most of these cases are historical and can’t be examined with any reliability. But not Michael Faherty. He died in 2010, in Galway, Ireland.

Discovery of the Body and Investigation

Michael was found on the 22nd of December in the sitting room of his home. His body was badly burnt with his head close to an open fireplace.

During the investigation, forensic experts determined that the fireplace was not the cause of the fire.

No accelerant could be found and strangely, the only damage, other than the body, was the ceiling above him and the flooring directly below him.

The rest of the room remained untouched.

An investigation by the police and the fire service could find no signs of foul play. A post-mortem stated that although Michael suffered from Type 2 Diabetes and hypertension, he had not died from heart failure.

Cause of Death – Spontaneous Human Combustion

Investigating coroner Dr Ciaran McLoughlin confirmed the cause of death as spontaneous human combustion. He stated to an enquiry in 2011 that:

This fire was thoroughly investigated and I’m left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation.

Dr Loughlin – Coroner for West Galway

So yes, according to his death certificate, he really did spontaneously erupt into flames from within.

Dr Loughlin also noted that Professor Bernard Knight, writing about spontaneous combustion in his forensic pathology book noted that these case were almost always near an open fireplace or chimney.

So if you have a fireplace, maybe don’t sit too close to it.

Sources:

First Irish case of Death by spontaneous combustion (bbc.co.uk)

Death of Michael Faherty (wikipedia.org)

Header Image (pixabay.com)