UPDATE 061819:
According to Police Chief Herbert Dew, the state crime lab's autopsy showed that Jan Overstreet, the man killed in the June 13 fire in an abandoned house at 727 N. Jackson St., died of smoke inhalation.
Dew also said that graveside funeral services will be held for Overstreet at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 21, in Parkway Cemetery.
Earlier:
The State crime lab has confirmed that the individual killed in the house fire at 727 N. Jackson St. last week was Jan Overstreet, 64, of Kosciusko.
“We were pretty confident Friday morning that it was him, but we had to wait for confirmation from the state crime lab,” said Police Chief Herbert Dew. Although the lab confirmed the victim’s identity, Dew said the rest of the autopsy results are not yet available.
Overstreet was known locally as a homeless man who had recently been seen using the unoccupied home on North Jackson Street near Whit’s Quik Foods for shelter.
During their June 4, meeting, the Kosciusko Board of Aldermen held an unclean property hearing about the site due to neighbor complaints and overall poor condition. They voted 4-0 to demolish the property, which is owned by David R. Winters, who was not present for the hearing. Once such a vote is taken, there is a 10-day period during which the owner may respond to the vote before demolition is scheduled.
According to Dew, the blaze remains under investigation by his department and the state Fire Marshall’s office.
“There are some suspicious circumstances surrounding it,” said Dew. “The building had no electricity or utilities, so why did it catch fire?”
Kosciusko Fire personnel responded to the scene within about two minutes of receiving the 11:50 p.m. call last Thursday night, but the building was fully engulfed in flames at the time of their arrival.
