Who killed Bud? Someone did

The late Ivan “Bud” Foglesong (pictured, with his granddaughter) died “at the hands of another, other than by accident.” He did not die of natural causes, commit suicide or die by accident.

That was the decision a Glenn County jury reached, by a 9-6 vote, Tuesday (Aug. 31) following a two-day coroner’s inquest into the former Air Force pilot’s mysterious death on July 21, 2007, when a hunting cabin in the family compound south of Willows burst into flames with him inside. (See “An accident or murder?” CN&R, Sept. 3, 2009.)

The decision is a victory for Foglesong’s family, which had long contended that the conclusions reached by law enforcement investigators—first that he had committed suicide, then that it had been an accident—were wrong. It was also a victory for Tim Crews, editor of the Sacramento Valley Mirror, who has refused to let the story die and repeatedly called for a coroner’s inquest.

Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones told reporters following the verdict that he didn’t know what his next course of action would be and needed to discuss it with his staff.