South Franklin man died of carbon monoxide poisoning in December fire
A state police fire marshal has closed his investigation into the death of a South Franklin Township man whose body was found in a closet of his home more than three weeks after it was damaged in a Dec. 3 fire.
The body of Edward D. Kerns, 53, was found by workers for a fire restoration company on Dec. 26 inside the home at 3910 Park Ave.
The investigation found that Kerns died of carbon monoxide poisoning, and that Kerns had a blood-alcohol content almost 2 1/2 times the 0.08 percent figure at which drivers are considered to be intoxicated.
Kerns’ family had filed a missing persons report three days after the fire. At the time his body was discovered, investigators said the location of his remains and the amount of items on top of him made it difficult to find his body, even though there had been multiple searches of the house.
The fire marshal determined the fire was caused by an electrical problem.