The Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office has identified the body found inside a house destroyed by fire on Chapman Lake last week. The body was located in a fatal house fire Jan. 23 at 2147 Chapman Lake Drive, Warsaw. The Northeast Forensic Center of St. Joe Hospital, Fort Wayne, confirmed that the body located in the residence was that of Stephen T. Hall, 65, Warsaw, through X-ray and dental comparisons. The forensic doctor also concluded that Hall had died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns. The Fire Investigation Team of Kosciusko County (also referred to as Squad 70) released a preliminary determination last week that the fire origin appeared to have started in the basement of the structure. Various interviews led investigators to believe that Hall had obtained a portable heater and had used it in the basement the evening before the fire to thaw out frozen waterlines. Evidence located by fire investigators indicated that the source of the fire appeared to have started in close proximity to the portable heater. Agencies assisting the Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office with the investigation include the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Departmen, Leesburg/Plain Township Fire Department, Warsaw/Wayne Township Fire Territory, North Webster, Winona Lake, and Pierceton Fire Departments, and the Fire Investigation Team of Kosciusko County.
