CARIBOU, Maine — Maine State Police on Tuesday identified the man found dead last week in a burning home in Caribou.
The victim, whose death was ruled a homicide, has been identified as Kenneth Zernicke, 58, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland. He said Zernicke was identified after the state police crime lab was able to examine his fingerprints.
Zernicke’s body was discovered in a house at 5 Lower Lyndon St. just before 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, after Caribou firefighters went to deal with the fire call. The body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta, where an autopsy was performed. While police have declared the death a homicide, the cause of death has not yet been released.
Police conducted an informational roadblock on Friday in an effort to find passers-by who might have seen someone entering or leaving the residence about the time of the fire.
Anyone who saw any activity at or around the house between 6 and 8 p.m. last Thursday should call state police in Houlton at 532-5400.
