APRIL 25, 2015
SARASOTA, FLA. (AP)
Officials say a February 26, 2015 southwest Florida home
explosion that left one man dead appears to be a suicide.
A February home explosion that likely killed one man and
shook houses blocks away was caused by a suicide, said Ashley Carr, spokeswoman
for the state fire marshal's office.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 26, a “gas vapor explosion”
destroyed a three-bedroom house at 2141 Cork Oak Street, Sarasota, FL., Carr
said. Investigators found the body of Erick Szakacs, 46, in a pickup truck in
the house's garage, where the explosion is believed to have originated.
“There's no outside foul play suspected,” Carr said. “We do
believe this was a suicide.”
More information on the case will become available as the
state fire marshal and Sarasota County Sheriff's Office release investigative
documents.
Szakacs was the home's owner, records show. He worked as a
cabinet maker.
Nine days before his death, he had pleaded no contest to a
November DUI charge in a Sarasota County court, according to his attorney,
Jeffrey A. Hanes.
Hanes said Szakacs would not face imprisonment for his DUI.
“He was in real good spirits,” Hanes said of the DUI ruling.
“There was nothing for him to be despondent about on the DUI.”
Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com