Park Visitor Discover Burning Body Hanging from Tree

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A park visitor discovered a burning body hanging from a tree. On Tuesday, police said the remains were found still on fire near a merry-go-round at Griffith Park, in Los Angeles.

According to police, around 12:30 PM someone taking a stroll through the park heading northeast off Griffith Observatory, not far from the Los Angeles Zoo, discovered an aflame tree with a body hanging from the center of it.

The police were summoned by Park Rangers after the passerby alerted them to the unnerving scene.

NBC Los Angeles reported that the person was already dead by the time police officers and firefighters arrived on the scene. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, Margaret Stewart, told Los Angeles Daily News that as of Wednesday morning the body remained unidentified although it belonged to a woman.

According to the Los Angeles Times, police said they believed the deceased was a regular visitor to the park and was possibly a homeless person.

The incident is being investigated as a suicide as the police said there are no signs of foul play.

“It appears to be self-immolation,” LAPD detective Michael Ventura told the station ABC7. “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.”

A coroner’s examination will determine an exact cause of death.