At approximately 3:30 PM, on March 31, Sheriff’s Office Communications received a call that there was a fire at a residence in the 200 block of Northwoods Circle in Melody Lake outside of Leslie. The caller reported that there was also a deceased person and a second individual had left the scene.
Upon arrival deputies located a body inside of a shed near the residence. There was also a pick up tuck parked nearby with the hood up with the engine compartment scorched. Beaufort Leslie Fire and Gerald EMS had also responded to the scene along with neighbors who helped distinguish the fire.
Deputies obtained video footage from a security system. The footage showed the victim working on the engine of the truck. He apparently poured what appeared to be gas in to the carburetor causing a flash fire. The victim is observed trying to remove the gas can and extinguish the flames at which time his head area is exposed to flashes of fire. He appears to become disoriented and eventually falls to the ground. He eventually went in to a shed nearby where he was later found deceased by the subject who had left the scene prior to arrival of law enforcement.
At this point the exact cause of death is unknown, however, it is apparent that the subject was injured by the flames. The victim is identified as Roy Helling, a white male, age 47 from Gerald.
The subject that had left the scene was located later in the afternoon in St. Clair. He was a friend of the victim and reported that he left the scene because he believed there were warrants for his arrest.
Deputies obtained video footage from a security system. The footage showed the victim working on the engine of the truck. He apparently poured what appeared to be gas in to the carburetor causing a flash fire. The victim is observed trying to remove the gas can and extinguish the flames at which time his head area is exposed to flashes of fire. He appears to become disoriented and eventually falls to the ground. He eventually went in to a shed nearby where he was later found deceased by the subject who had left the scene prior to arrival of law enforcement.
At this point the exact cause of death is unknown, however, it is apparent that the subject was injured by the flames. The victim is identified as Roy Helling, a white male, age 47 from Gerald.
The subject that had left the scene was located later in the afternoon in St. Clair. He was a friend of the victim and reported that he left the scene because he believed there were warrants for his arrest.
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