Evansville house explosion victims died of trauma, asphyxia

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Preliminary autopsy results for the three victims of a house explosion in a southern Indiana neighborhood show they died of blunt force trauma and compression asphyxia. The Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office said Monday that a married couple who lived at the center of the Wednesday explosion in Evansville, 43-year-old Charles Hite and 37-year-old Martina Hite, both died of blunt force trauma to their chests. It says 29-year-old neighbor Jessica Teague died of compression asphyxia. Chief Deputy Coroner David Anson says final autopsy reports and toxicology are pending. The explosion also injured a fourth person and damaged 39 homes, leaving 11 uninhabitable.