PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence police have ruled out foul play in the death of a special education teacher whose body was found in his burning home late April.
Richard A. Palazzo was found dead April 30 on the third floor of his home at 76-78 Pomona Ave., where he'd lived alone. The 53-year-old man was a teacher at the Groden Center in Providence, according to his obituary, and he was remembered as a kind and caring man.
The medical examiner's office said this week that Palazzo died from "cutting wounds" on the right side of his neck, along with smoke inhalation and "thermal injuries."
Although the police initially investigated Palazzo's death as a possible homicide, the detectives have since determined there was no foul play, Deputy Police Chief Thomas F. Oates said Friday. "We do not believe it is a homicide," he said.