By Shereen Siewert

UPDATED: 2:10 p.m.

The deaths of two people whose bodies were found in a house fire in southwest Marathon County in April have been ruled accidental, officials said Thursday.

The fire was reported the morning of April 6 at a home in the Marathon County town of Day where two bodies were discovered inside. After firefighters discovered what appeared to be signs of foul play, police launched a homicide investigation.

44-year-old Tanya M. Rodriguez and 52-James K. Carolfi, both of the town of Day, died in the fire. Police said they were electrocuted while engaging in fractal wood burning.

Fractal burning is a relatively new technique which creates patterns in wood that resemble branching or fractal patterns by applying electrical current from a high-voltage source across wood items that may have been soaked with a chemical solution. Also known as Lichtenberg, the controversial process has been blamed for a number of deaths nationwide.

In May 2020, 35-year-old Matt Schmidt, of Wisconsin, lost his life while performing the technique for the first time, according to Woodworking Industry News. His wife told the Milton Courier that Schmidt had become interested in fractal burning just a month or so before his death. She said they watched videos together about the technique – neither realizing it was dangerous. Other accidents have been reported in Michigan and elsewhere.

“This was a tragic accident,” Marathon County Chief Deputy Chad Billeb said Thursday, during a press conference. “This is a technique that can be very dangerous.”

In mid-2017, The American Association of Woodturners Safety Committee issued a policy against fractal burning, banning the technique from AAW events after it took the life of a craftsman in Washington.

Billeb said the burning technique should only be performed by trained professionals.

See our earlier reporting below.

WAUSAU – Marathon County Chief Deputy Chad Billeb on Thursday will release information about a homicide investigation launched after two people were found dead inside a home that was substantially damaged by fire.

Stratford Fire was paged just after 6 a.m. April 6 to a home in the 205000 block of Rangeline Road in the town of Day, a single-family home with an attached garage.

The homeowner was not located, but two bodies were discovered inside, according to the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department. Firefighters say they found evidence of foul play, which led them to alert police.

Thursday marks the first update about the investigation. To date, names of the victims have not been publicly released and police have not said what led to the homicide investigation.

This story will be updated after the news conference, set for 2 p.m. Thursday.

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