Michael C. Juliano

mjuliano@bcnnew.com

The death of a Weston woman whose body was found burning Thursday in Weston's Bisceglie-Scribner Park was ruled a suicide by the state medical examiner's office.

Weston Police Chief John Troxell said the examiner's officer confirmed Monday afternoon through dental X-rays that the body belonged to 48-year-old Weston resident Lisa Gionis.

An autopsy performed Friday morning determined the woman died of smoke inhalation and thermal injury.

Troxell said a man who had driven there to eat his lunch at about 11:15 a.m. saw the woman's body burning in the parking lot and drove about a mile to police headquarters to report that an object looking like a mannequin was on fire.

Troxell said responding Officer Joe Mogollon noticed an object on fire in the parking lot, but didn't realize it was a human body until he put out the fire with a fire extinguisher he had in his cruiser.

"The fire was so involved that he couldn't tell what was on fire," Troxell said. "The body was burnt beyond recognition."

A Toyota Corolla containing a purse with Gionis' identification and a gas can were found near her body, Troxell said.

"It was her car," he said.

The state fire marshal and the

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State Police Western District Major Crime Squad were called in to investigate and to confirm whether the death was a suicide.

"There are no signs of foul play and it was determined that no one else was there at the time," he said. "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't staged to cover another crime."

Troxell said a note with Gionis' handwriting, as confirmed by her husband, and a pencil were found at her residence on a staircase leading down to the basement, which had a door connecting to the garage and the car. Police would not reveal the contents of the letter.

Troxell said, Gionis, who has a son attending Weston High School, was actively involved in Little League and the town's baseball community.

"From my perspective and those of my fellow officers, we view this as a horrible tragedy. To try to rationalize and irrational act, it's very hard to understand," he said. "We'll probably never know why this really happened. It's all speculation. Now's the time for healing and closure."