Indiana State Police detectives and crime scene investigators are conducting a death investigation after an early morning house fire in Austin last week.
Shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday Nov. 17, the Jennings Township Fire Department and Austin City Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting a residential fire at 45 N. 4th Street in Austin. When firefighters and officers arrived, they found the front of the residence on fire and a utility shed located in the front yard completely engulfed. After extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered a body in the charred remains of the utility shed.
ISP detectives and crime scene technicians responded and investigated the case throughout the morning and afternoon, along with investigators from the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Austin Police Department, and the Scott County Coroner.
The deceased has been identified as 41-year-old Paul Ray Collins of Austin.
The home is owned by Marshall E. Miller of rural Austin in southern Vernon Township in Jackson County.
This investigation remains ongoing, and no official cause for the fire or cause of death has yet been determined. Indiana State Police Sgt Carey Huls said an autopsy Collins body was completed early Friday afternoon and no foul play is suspected. A toxicology report is pending.
ISP detectives and crime scene technicians were assisted by the Jennings Township Fire Department, the Austin City Police Department, the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, and the Scott County Coroner.