When they entered the house, they found ashes and a human leg.  To this day, the Mary Reeser case remains a mystery

When they entered the house, they found ashes and a human leg. To this day, the Mary Reeser case remains a mystery

The case of Mary Reeser remains one big mystery to this day. The widow’s incinerated body was found in her home, but investigators determined that she could not have been in contact with the fire. The chair she was sitting on and the newspapers beside her were untouched. Scientists describe her case as one of the “mysteries of the universe”

You can read more similar articles on the home page

Mary Reeser was a lonely widow who spent most of her time running a small household. On July 2, 1951, one of her neighbors wanted to visit her. As she touched the doorknob, the hot metal burned her hand. She immediately called for help. When the services arrived, they found a pile of ashes inside the house, with a completely intact human leg in the middle.

Mary Reeser’s body temperature must have been at least 2,000 degrees Celsius. How did she die?

Mary Reeser liked cigarettes. She was also addicted to sleeping pills. Initially, investigators suspected that the old woman had fallen asleep in the chair while smoking. However, if this happened, the flame would touch the seat and the newspapers lying nearby. Meanwhile, nothing but the corpse seemed to have been damaged by the fire in any way. Detectives also determined that Mary Reeser must have experienced a temperature of 2,000 degrees Celsius for her body to turn to ashes.

“It’s one of those things that just couldn’t happen, but it did. The case is not closed and may never satisfy all concerned – the head of detectives investigating the case. Ultimately, the case was closed without establishing a clear source of fire.

Is it a case of spontaneous combustion? Similar incidents have allegedly occurred in the past

Spontaneous ignition, i.e. starting the combustion process without a spark or other source, was described in stories from the 17th and 18th centuries. In those days, however, it was a kind of bogeyman, which was supposed to reduce the problem of drunkenness. It was believed that high concentrations of alcohol in the blood could be the key to heating the body to the temperature that triggered the flame. – Self-ignition has become an argument in the fight against alcoholism. A warning that if you drink, you may fall victim to self-immolation – Swedish rheumatologist Jan Bondeson in one of the interviews. However, it is not known whether Ms. Reeser was intoxicated at the time. It is possible that the woman actually started the fire from the cigarette, which then reacted with the drugs she was holding. However, there is no clear evidence for this. For this reason, Mary’s case remains one of the mysteries to this day, the solution of which we may never know.

Source: Gazeta

You may also like

Immediate Access Pro