KS - Suspicious fire death cause determined as suicide

SCAMMON, Kan. — The Cherokee County sheriff is referring to the death of a Texas woman whose body was found in a field on the north edge of Scammon as "suspicious."
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Sheriff David Groves said late in the day that the woman has been identified as Shannon Fonda, 35, of Midland, Texas. He said investigators have been in contact with members of her family but remain uncertain what she was doing in the Scammon area.

"We do know she had been here for at least the last 36 hours," Grove said about 6 p.m. Monday.
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The body was found in a field about a quarter-mile from a convenience store. The sheriff declined to say if the woman had been inside the store.
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The sheriff declined to discuss ownership of the vehicle or say if the body was found inside or outside of it.

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An autopsy was performed in Kansas City on Tuesday morning and it was determined that Ms. Fonda died from shock and complications due to burns on her body.
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Customarily with unattended deaths, investigations are conducted with the thoroughness of homicide investigations, unless or until the facts and evidence prove them to be otherwise.

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Fonda's aunt, Alice Vargas, of Big Spring, Texas, said Friday that she disagreed with the conclusion reached by the sheriff's department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

"I don't think Shannon would cut herself and set herself on fire," she said. "Shannon wasn't like that. She had a lot of problems, sure, but I don't think they were that bad for her to do that to herself."

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