SEYMOUR -- An elderly man was found shot in the middle of a fire at Seymour home that officials said contained evidence of hoarding. The victim, identified as Wallace Deklyn, 67, later died.
The call for the fire at 9 Bungay Rd came in around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Officials on the scene said the man, who was shot in the head, was taken out of the house in cardiac arrest and later passed away at the hospital.
The "hoarding situation" made it difficult for firefighting, said Dep. Chief John Cronin of the Seymour Fire Department.
"A lot of the rooms were completely full of personal belongings and debris and what not, so there's just no room in the house to actually walk," said Cronin.
The flames severely damaged the house and parts of the roof collapsed, delaying investigators from figuring out what happened. They brought in heavy machinery in hopes to peel off the remaining roof to make it safe for detectives to walk around.
Police and fire officials are conducting separate but related investigations. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy.