A death investigation is underway after authorities found a “badly” burned body late Tuesday inside a Worcester home while responding to Halmstad Street for a report of a fire in progress.
Worcester police said firefighters were called to the home around 11:45 p.m. and found a small fire burning in the living room. Officers also discovered the body of a 54-year-old man, who was face down on the floor.
Police said the man’s lower body was badly burned and that he had large gash on his head. The fire was said to be confined to a small area near the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Shortly after, police said officers were called to Greenwood Street for a report of an intoxicated man stumbling around in traffic.
The man, identified as Bryan Flores, 28, was allegedly found with a bag of cheese puffs in his waist and a small “torch” lighter on the ground near him. A police report indicated that Flores had “scratches and abrasions on his knuckles, and over his right eye” when officers found him.
Police said officers were told by a clerk at a nearby 7-Eleven that Flores had stolen a box of lighters from the store. Police said he had also been involved in a prior “incident” with the victim.
Worcester firefighters later responded to a report of a trailer fire around 12:30 a.m. on Blackstone River Road and were told by a resident that an intoxicated man had been stumbling around the area.
Flores was arrested on a shoplifting charge. The death at 12 Halmstad Street was referred to the state medical examiner. While police said Flores knew the victim, he has not been charged in connection with what’s being called a “suspicious” death.
The cause of the house fire is under investigation.
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