SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - A man found with a gunshot wound on the lawn of his burning South Manheim Township home Friday morning committed suicide, officials said Monday.
State police Trooper Mark W. Knock of the Schuylkill Haven station said an autopsy determined that Gerald Everett Hale, 46, of Schuylkill Haven, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David Moylan said the forensic autopsy at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, on Saturday revealed Hale suffered a single wound to the right side of his chest from a handgun that pierced his heart, resulting in death.
The coroner said the results of several toxicology tests taken during the autopsy are still pending but the manner of death has been ruled a suicide.
Hale's body was found about 8:30 a.m. Friday outside of his home at 30 S. Shue String Lane, which was fully engulfed in flames.
He lived in the home with his wife, Catherine L. Covach-Hale, and the couple's two children, neighbors said.
Hale was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:03 a.m. Moylan initially said a virtual autopsy conducted Friday night revealed he suffered "fatal internal hemorrhaging" due to a gunshot wound. Those findings were confirmed during the forensic autopsy, he said.
Although the cause of death was determined, Knock said the exact cause of the fire is still pending investigation.
Fire marshals Trooper John F. Burns of the Frackville station and Trooper Thomas Finn of the Schuylkill Haven station are working on determining a cause of the fire, and state police Troop L. Major Case Team conducted the investigation into the death of Hale.
Firefighters from Schuylkill Haven and surrounding areas were called just after 8:30 a.m. for a report of an "unknown type fire" at the Shue String Lane home, located just off Schuylkill Mountain Road.
At the scene, firefighters were met with a fully engulfed home and a man, later identified as Hale, lying in the grass in the same area.
The fire was brought under control about 9:30 a.m., but firefighters remained at the scene on standby in case the flames would reignite while police were conducting their investigation.