Barbara Butcher, a forensic scientist who has investigated more than 5,500 deaths for New York City's Office of Chief Medical Examiner, has described the one case so disturbing that she had to leave the room. Butcher, who has worked on thousands of deaths including 680 murders for the department, said the accidental death affected her profoundly.
The Case That Shook a Veteran Investigator
In a recent interview with LADBible for their Stories YouTube series, Butcher recounted the death of a man, believed to be about 30 years old, who was recording himself through a mirror. She suspected the filming may have been for his own viewing pleasure later.
Butcher recalled: "The one that bothered me though was setting oneself on fire. So this guy, I think, he's about 30 years old." She described how the man set up a mirror and a camera to watch himself on fire whilst masturbating and film it, asking: "For what? I guess his later pleasure, looking at it after dinner one night."
How the Tragic Accident Unfolded
According to Butcher, the man poured alcohol on himself and lit it. She explained that alcohol burns off very quickly, like a blue flame running across the arms, and he probably would have survived if he had not added more alcohol while there was still flame around the back of his neck. The alcohol was in his hair, and he caught on fire completely.
In his panicked state, the man knocked the bottle onto the floor. Butcher added: "And then he spilled the alcohol, so the rug, he was standing on a little shag rug, that caught on fire and he was burning. And this is all captured on film."
A Lasting Impact on the Investigator
Butcher said she saw the beginning of that film and ran out of the room when the accident started, saying: "This is too awful." Despite all she has witnessed throughout her professional life, she said it remained among the most distressing deaths she had seen. She described it as "one of the awfulest deaths I've ever seen," noting that the man was beating at himself in an attempt to put out the flames, which did not work.
