Victim in New Orleans ‘man cave’ fire died from gunshot wound, coroner says

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A man found dead in a building fire was shot before firefighters pulled his body from the ashes of his man cave, according to an autopsy report.

The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office says Larry Williams, 64, died of a gunshot wound on Sunday, Jan. 15 in the Pigeon Town neighborhood.

Friends say they were hanging out with Williams that night when he told them he was going inside his “man cave” to watch an NFL playoff game.

“He was a good person,” friend Ray Lewis said. “He would give you anything you asked for.”

A man described as Williams’ uncle was watching the game with him in the small Cohn Street structure when he decided to go inside the main house. He smelled smoke and looked outside, noticing that the shed was on fire, and called 911.

The intensity of the fire damaged a nearby home.

The fire department says the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Anybody with information that could help detectives is asked to call New Orleans police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

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