Found Deceased OH - Harley Dilly, 14, walking to Port Clinton High School, 20 Dec 2019 #4

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userunnamed said:
I'm confused how he passed away from being compressed. It was 9x13 so if he fit, then I feel like he fit. It wasn't 4x13. When I imagine someone dying from compressed asphyxiation I imagine it being from pressure on the front and back side of the body, but this sort of implies he was compressed from his sides. I'm assuming the width of his rib cage was less than either 13 or 9 inches. So that would mean he was compressed from the sides but wouldn't his rib cage protect that from happening?
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If he were upside down- compression is from top to bottom compressing the diaphragm.
The rib cage is flexible - Inhale it expands - exhale is compresses
 
Linda7NJ said:
If he were upside down- compression is from top to bottom compressing the diaphragm
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ah makes sense - thanks. I would assume then he would have died quickly either way than. Reminds me of the Nutty Putty cave death. The guy was basically positioned so his body was upside down and the blood to the brain killed him. I think that took 28 hours.
Nutty Putty Cave - Wikipedia
 
KCmetwo said:
Port Clinton homeowner speaks about layout of chimney where body of Harley Dilly was discovered

According to the homeowner, the home was winterized. Water wasn’t running, but the heat was on low.

There’s no fireplace in the home and he said the chimney where Dilly climbed into wasn’t in use.




**A thought I had. With as much emphasis as was placed on the number of times HD bathed during the day, would that tend to insinuate a type of OCD and an individual that didn't like to be dirty/smell?? Why and HOW would he be able to climb into something the size of a cake pan for 1 and for 2 wouldn't he have a fear of getting dirty with as many times as he bathed during the day?** (just a thought that crossed my mind when I found this story and also MOO)
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I also have wondered how he planned to explain arriving home or at school covered in soot.
 
Sorry for double post, but another part that minimized his chances of being found is that the chimney was in the middle of the house. So if he was yelling for help his voice would have to travel outside the chimney, over the roof, to the outside of the house to the side on the lawn. Much further than if the chimney were on the side of the house and he was yelling out for help.

Additionally, you can't see the chimney (from what I can tell) from walking on the outside of the house. A searcher wouldn't have been privy to the fact that there was a chimney on the middle of the roof. If the chimney had been on the side of the house there's a chance it would have drawn someone's attention sooner.

There was a lot working against him in this situation. Heart breaking.
 
lonetraveler said:
I can tell that you know that this is total BS, right?
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if you follow up on my other posts about this you'd see I said I assumed this must be miss-reporting more than once lol. I also posted the source (but I was just quoting a blurb from the person I above me in my original post)
 
Stripehaven said:
I also have wondered how he planned to explain arriving home or at school covered in soot.
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From the talk of a LOT of HD's belongings being found there last night I was under the impression that he had just made a little clubhouse in the place. Then I found out about the chimney....That was why I said didn't anyone notice movement or light from a game in my post on the last thread, since the way they made it sound there was more than just his coat and glasses there. I mean to watch all these bags of "evidence" come out and think, "ok yeah the kid's just been chillin in the house" especially while they were fingerprinting and taking pictures of the floor etc. It broke my heart to hear abt his condition.

THEN it hit me....this child take upwards of 5 baths a day and he went down a chimney...the way live PD made it sound he HATES to be dirty...so....WHY. loss of glasses like someone said earlier is one explanation, "boys will be boys" is another...but on a child who has "particular habits" for some reason this JUST ISN'T SITTIN RIGHT IMO
 
Gunslinging Granny said:
Okay. It would have a coal burner in the basement and a coal stove upstairs. They also have to be vented out the chimney. This is coal country, so it makes sense that they burned coal and not wood.
View attachment 225949
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bellyup said:
:(

Exactly. So they were vented into the holes that in this house seem like they were left open. I saw a lot of renovation pages that say to leave it open for cleaning or animals. Or if you ever want to use a vented free standing heater in the home again.

Sometimes if they aren’t going to be used these chimneys are permanently capped off because they are dangerous for wildlife seeking warmth. How I wish this one had been. :(

Edit to add: I looked at Ohio laws and it seems be a legal requirement that chimneys are at least screened within 12” of the opening or capped with a vented cement cap. This may not apply to historical building though.
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I'd forgotten about the coal burners in the basement and the octopus furnaces! Any of these vintage heat sources could have had wall (baseboard) registers that were fairly large and ornate. Something like this would not even have to be removed from the wall for HD's coat and glasses to be seen directly behind the ornate wall grate. Could also explain the removal of drywall and work being done last night before investigators finally announced the recovery of a body.
 
This is so heartbreaking.Things i cant get out my head.. Harley was positive about school and felt safe there he seemed to enjoy his teachers and friends, even though mom said he told her he didn't feel well why did he not just go to school to get out of the cold and something to eat? I feel so sad for him. He must have really had a reason for not wanting to go to school, because i can not see going in a chimney a better choice than going to a place he felt safe at even if he didn't feel good. moo
 
userunnamed said:
I'm confused how he passed away from being compressed. It was 9x13 so if he fit, then I feel like he fit. It wasn't 4x13. When I imagine someone dying from compressed asphyxiation I imagine it being from pressure on the front and back side of the body, but this sort of implies he was compressed from his sides. I'm assuming the width of his rib cage was less than either 13 or 9 inches. So that would mean he was compressed from the sides but wouldn't his rib cage protect that from happening?
Click to expand...
Sadly, imagine his head fit but the remainder of his body did not. I hope it was quick and relatively painless and without much fear. Poor Harley. We loved you and you meant a lot to all who have followed your case.
 
Gunslinging Granny said:
View attachment 225945
The flue or chimney in this old house does not exit into lovely antique fireplaces. This was a coal-heated house. Someone took away the coal burners, but the chimney/flue remained and was capped off. It wasn't removed. People don't remove a chimney/flue because it would be outrageously costly to rip out walls to remove the chimney/flue and you might want to use it again.

Harley's coat and glasses were found on the second floor outside the opening of the flue. So either the flue wasn't capped or Harley somehow knocked the cap off the flue.
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I find it difficult to believe a puffer coat by itself would fall and come out of the chimney on the floor. He must have had something heavy in the pockets.

JMVHO.

RIP, Harley.
 
demetra said:
This is so heartbreaking.Things i cant get out my head.. Harley was positive about school and felt safe there he seemed to enjoy his teachers and friends, even though mom said he told her he didn't feel well why did he not just go to school to get out of the cold and something to eat? I feel so sad for him. He must have really had a reason for not wanting to go to school, because i can not see going in a chimney a better choice than going to a place he felt safe at even if he didn't feel good. moo
Click to expand...
Many kids his age don’t want to participate in ugly sweater days or whatever was going on the last day before break. It’s not cool etc
If he didn’t want to go to school IMO he had some valid reason. Listen to your kids because they aren’t always forthcoming. Listen to understand not necessarily to respond!
 
KCmetwo said:
From the talk of a LOT of HD's belongings being found there last night I was under the impression that he had just made a little clubhouse in the place. Then I found out about the chimney....That was why I said didn't anyone notice movement or light from a game in my post on the last thread, since the way they made it sound there was more than just his coat and glasses there. I mean to watch all these bags of "evidence" come out and think, "ok yeah the kid's just been chillin in the house" especially while they were fingerprinting and taking pictures of the floor etc. It broke my heart to hear abt his condition.

THEN it hit me....this child take upwards of 5 baths a day and he went down a chimney...the way live PD made it sound he HATES to be dirty...so....WHY. loss of glasses like someone said earlier is one explanation, "boys will be boys" is another...but on a child who has "particular habits" for some reason this JUST ISN'T SITTIN RIGHT IMO
Click to expand...

I was a 14 year old boy at one time. Let's just say 14 year old boys need alone time. If he wasn't able to get it in his room, from the sounds of his house, it sounds like people were in close quarters, then he could get it in the bathroom. I don't think taking 5 baths a day means he was a clean freak at 14, I think it just means he wanted his alone time. I wouldn't look too far into the bath thing. Unless, it was diagnosed he had OCD or something.
 
userunnamed said:
I'm confused how he passed away from being compressed. It was 9x13 so if he fit, then I feel like he fit. It wasn't 4x13. When I imagine someone dying from compressed asphyxiation I imagine it being from pressure on the front and back side of the body, but this sort of implies he was compressed from his sides. I'm assuming the width of his rib cage was less than either 13 or 9 inches. So that would mean he was compressed from the sides but wouldn't his rib cage protect that from happening?
Click to expand...

I wonder about this as well. Wonder if he had fractured bones and possibly a punctured lung?

JMVHO.
 
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userunnamed said:
I was a 14 year old boy at one time. Let's just say 14 year old boys need alone time. If he wasn't able to get it in his room, from the sounds of his house, it sounds like people were in close quarters, then he could get it in the bathroom. I don't think taking 5 baths a day means he was a clean freak at 14, I think it just means he wanted his alone time. I wouldn't look too far into the bath thing. Unless, it was diagnosed he had OCD or something.
Click to expand...

RBBM

I've opinions on this, which I will keep to myself.
 
bellyup said:
This photo shows an example of a flue in a home built around the same time. Some are this size. Some are square or little larger. The damper is inside and slants to this opening (so animals & debris can get out). This photo really helped me understand better how it could happen. (Photo from google images)
Note some homes at the time hooked wood burning furnaces into this opening.
Click to expand...
That is creepy looking.
 
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