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FORT WAYNE - Atta Musleh, the only survivor of the fire that burned Frank and Jerry's grocery in Mentone to the ground June 25, died last week at Saint Joseph Regional Burn Center.
Musleh died at 9:45 p.m. July 3 from infection to burns that covered 95 percent of his body, said Allen County Coroner's Office Chief Investigator Dick Alfeld.
No autopsy will be performed on Musleh because the county does not want to "waste taxpayers' resources," Alfeld said, adding that officials believe they know why and how he died.
Musleh, 19, Mentone, was a suspect in the alleged arson that also killed his uncle, Ismael Musleh. Ismael and Musleh operated the grocery store that burned.
State police are still investigating the fire as an arson and will not release any further information.
Mentone resident and frequent customer of Frank and Jerry's grocery, Janie Teel, said in a letter to the Times-Union that she and many town residents kept Atta Musleh in their prayers. Atta, whom she and other locals knew as "Adam," was a kind young man, she said, who referred to a local woman as "grandma" because his, by birth, lived far away.
Following the alleged crime, Teel said, locals are grieving in two ways: one, for the loss of liked neighbors and friendly faces, and two, for the loss of a local landmark.
