|
Listen to this article here
|
A burning, hanging body was found swinging from a tree in a popular Los Angeles, California urban park. Griffith Park is now the scene of a death by suicide near a merry-go-round.
Located in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, Griffith Park is one of the largest urban parks in the United States at 4,210 acres.
It is not yet known what the victim’s age, race, and identity are. But the individual is believed to be a frequent visitor to the park. However, the Los Angeles Daily News is reporting that the burning body is that of a woman.
It is believed that the hanging body was a death by suicide, according to local authorities. The body was discovered around 12:30 p.m. and reported to the police on Tuesday.
“This afternoon, the Los Angeles Police Department received a radio call of a possible body set on fire,” LAPD Detective Michael Ventura said. “Our park rangers were the first unit to respond.”
Following the initial call to the fire department regarding the suicide victim, Venture said the fire department was able to respond quickly and get the fire extinguished within minutes.
“We’ve made an initial determination that, unfortunately, this is a suicide. There are no indicators of foul play,” Ventura added. “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. Or they choose to set themselves on fire.”
According to Detective Ventura, they do not have any more information at this time and were unable to identify who the person is. As a result, the next of kin has not yet been contacted.
The LAPD said this is an ongoing and open investigation to determine what happened to this individual.
The discovery of the victim is now an ongoing and open investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department to determine what happened to this individual.
According to Mental Health America, 19.86% of adults are experiencing a mental illness. Equivalent to nearly 50 million Americans. 4.91% are experiencing a severe mental illness.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.