By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


Howell firefighters made a grisly discovery Thursday night as they extinguished a car fire.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office says it was dispatched to Fairlawn Estates in Howell Township to assist the Howell Area Fire Authority with an occupied vehicle fire. After Howell Fire units extinguished the fire, they located the body of a 21-year-old male inside of the vehicle.

According to a release from the Sheriff’s Office, they believe the deceased individual resided in Howell and that a preliminary investigation indicates that he died by suicide.

An autopsy will be performed at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor by the Medical Examiner’s Office, while an investigation continues under the command of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office’s Detective Bureau.

The name of the deceased subject is being withheld pending positive identification.