Jonhn Irving Bentley was a Pennsylvania physician who was found burned to death in his bathroom in December 1966. Many people are burned to death, but Bentley’s case was very different from the norm because he did not die in a house fire. Dr. Bentley was the victim of spontaneous human combustion.
If you are not familiar with the term, now I will clarify it. The victims of spontaneous human combustion burst into flames for no reason and without the presence of any external heat source. In most cases, the fire starts from inside the body and when the flames recede, the body has been reduced to ashes and many parts of the body. Just part of a leg, in Dr. Bentley’s case.
Dr. Bentley was last seen alive on December 4, 1966. Some friends had been visiting him and did not leave his house until 9pm. The next morning, a meter reader named Don Gosnell came to Bentley’s house and came in so he could read the meter. Gosnell headed straight for the basement where the meter was kept. While in the basement, Gosnell noticed a strange smell and also noticed the presence of some light blue smoke. Naturally, the meter reader was curious about this and went up the stairs to investigate.
Gosnel found more smoke in the bedroom and an inspection of the bathroom revealed the fate of the doctor. All that was left of John Irving Bentley was the lower half of his right leg. Bentley’s foot was still in his shoe. The rest of Bentley’s body had been burned to ash, some of which was on the bathroom floor, while the rest was in the basement because the heat from the burning body had burned a hole in the floor. In life, Dr. Bentley relied on a walker to get around and the frame was at the top of the hole in the floor. Interestingly, the rubber tips attached to the vigil frame remained intact and the tub only showed signs of slight scorching, yet there was enough heat to burn the hole in the floor and turn Bentley to ash.
At the time it was thought that he could have set himself on fire with his pipe. However, this theory was discarded almost as quickly as suggested, when the doctor’s pipe was found in its holder next to his bed in the next room. Without further immediate evidence, the coroner recorded a death verdict from suffocation and 90% burns to the body.
No one has been able to offer a satisfactory explanation of what happened to Dr. Bentley. He is just one of many victims over the years, whose death has been attributed to spontaneous human combustion, a phenomenon that is a mystery in itself and can always be.
