Authorities found a burning body hanging from a tree at a Los Angeles park Tuesday, local authorities say.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) announced that a burning body was found “hung from [a] tree near Griffith Park Merry Go Round” on Tuesday. The age and identity of the deceased individual is still unknown.
LAFD Alert- Griffith Park Body Recovery 154 Griffith Park x Merry Go Round MAP: https://t.co/qqNs8vHXio FS56; DETAILS: https://t.co/J7KE54l0M6
— LAFD (@LAFD) August 9, 2022
A park visitor walking northeast of the Griffith Observatory around 12:30 p.m. spotted the burning body, the New York Post reported, citing police. (RELATED: Family Of Five Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide)
The individual was dead by the time authorities arrived, according to NBC 4 Los Angeles. Authorities waited to remove the body from the tree until a coroner could arrive, the Los Angeles Times reported. One detective told the Los Angeles Times the body might belong to a “local transient” and that no foul play is currently suspected. A spokesperson for the LAFD told the Los Angeles Daily News that the body belongs to a woman.
Detective Michael Ventura told ABC 7 it “appears to be self-immolation.”
“This is going to be somebody who brought some gasoline, brought some lighters. We have had, they are rare, but we do have cases where people will self-immolate. Or they choose to set themselves on fire.”