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Mary Riser lived alone in St. Petersburg, Florida.

On July 1st, 1951, the 67-year-old widow received a visit from her son,

and she appeared to be in good spirits.

The following day, Mary's landlady went to the apartment to deliver a telegram.

Sure, it was a Florida summer, but the landlady knew that couldn't possibly explain why her front doornaub was extremely warm to the touch.

Concerned, the landlady entered the apartment. In the living room, she could see where

Mary liked to sit in her easy chair, but the chair was gone, and so was Mary. All that remained was a pile of

ash, a burned portion of her skull and spine, and her left foot, still wearing a black silk

slipper. Mary's skull was said to have shrunk to the size of a cup. Her remains were so

destroyed by the fire that the firefighters almost missed them. When police examined the

gruesome scene, they were curious to find the rest of the room,

and in fact the entire apartment were untouched by the blaze.

There was an oily residue on the carpet around the area where her chair had stood.

Soot and smoke darkened the upper walls and ceiling of the apartment, but the lower half of the walls were clean.

Light switches near Mary's body were melted, but the plugs closer to the floor were not, and still

worked. Candles close to the site were melted, but the wicks were not burned. A pile of newspapers

and bed sheets, only a few feet from her charred remains, were not burned. A pile of newspapers and bed sheets, only a few feet from her charred

remains, were not damaged. The theories behind Mary's death circulated as people reached out to the

St. Petersburg police with their ideas. One letter to the police said, quote, a ball of fire

came through the open window and hit her.

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