Neighbors Shocked at Death of 40-year-old Disabled Man

Neighbors of a man found dead in his burning Mehlville duplex this morning say they are shocked and saddened by the incident.

Mehlville firefighters found 40-year-old Mark J. Woods, a quadriplegic, in the home at 140 Kinswood Lane after being called to the scene about a fire at 5:45 a.m. He lived in a complex for the disabled. St. Louis County police are investigating the incident as a homicide.

“I could hardly work today,” said Shirley Brown, a neighbor. “I just kept thinking about him all day wondering if he was okay. When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t see which apartment it was because of all the (emergency) vehicles out there.”

Janice Shipley, who lives on the other side of the duplex, said she awoke to the smell of smoke at about 5:30 a.m.

“When I opened the door, my dog ran out, and I was overcome with smoke – it was nothing but black,” she said. “He was always so nice to me.  I wish I would have woken up earlier.”

Chief Tim White, of the Mehlville Fire Protection District, said when firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire was burning through the roof. However, he noted that the department was able to successfully stop the fire from spreading to the other side of the duplex.

“While the firefighters were trying to contain the fire, we did a primary search and found the man, who appeared to be deceased for some time,” he said. “That’s when we contacted police, and they activated the crime scene unit and the bomb and arson squad.”

Rick Eckhard, an officer with the St. Louis County Police Department, said homicide detectives are continuing to investigate the case, but haven’t identified any suspects.

“As trained observers, we can tell that it (the death) was not self-inflicted,” he said. “We believe he was killed, but can’t comment any further at this point.”

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call St. Louis County police at 314-889-2341 or Crimestoppers at 866-371-TIPS.