BASALT, Colo.—Police said a man trying to kill a woman accidentally set himself on fire and then shot himself in the face with a rifle to end his misery.
The man, John Kenworthy, 50, also had about 20 rounds of ammunition that ignited and “cooked off,” sending shrapnel into his body as it lay burning outside a duplex Saturday morning, Basalt Sgt. Mark Langford said.
“He was there to do evil,” Langford said, adding Kenworthy may have been planning a murder suicide.
“The first part was unsuccessful and he basically caught himself on fire… it is the wrinkle that caused him the problem that then caused him to not want to burn anymore,” Langford said.
Investigators pieced the scenario based on evidence at the scene. There were no witnesses to Kenworthy’s catching himself afire or his gunshot wound.
Langford said Kenworthy left a note that didn’t mention suicide. Kenworthy had a relationship with the woman.
Investigators said the man’s footprints lead to the inside of the duplex and Basalt Fire Chief Scott Thompson said he could see patterns on the floors where the man apparently used a flammable liquid to start a fire.
Eagle County Coroner Kara Bettis said the gunshot wound was deliberate based on the size of the rifle and the effort needed to fire a round.
