Florissant Man Used Gasoline to Start Home Explosion, Suicide Was Motive

, used gasoline to set off the blast, according to a report from KMOV.

Florissant police said Sayles’ death has been ruled a suicide.

“It’s one of those things where if you pour enough gas in the house and then you have the vapors saturate the air that much caused the explosion,” a spokesman told KMOV.

The explosion took the home off its foundation, and the fire destroyed it as well as causing damage to a neighboring home.

Sayles was “going through something,” a neighbor told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but he didn’t know exactly what.

"I live 3 blocks over and I heard the explosion and I shook the house," a Florissant resident posted on Florissant Patch. "I wondered what it was because it was different than anything I have heard before. May the man that died rest in peace and my condolences to his family."

Florissant resident Susan Geerling lives about a mile and a half from Sayles' home. She said she and her family were awakened by the sound of an explosion about 2:55 a.m. early Sunday morning.

"I can only imagine how loud it must have been to be closer," she posted on Florissant Patch. "I fully expected to hear on Sunday what caused the explosion, but I've only just read this article today."

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