In memory of Steven McGuire

As most of you know my father, Steven, recently was missing and his body was found burnt in an abandoned house. There is still an ongoing investigation with his case. Our worlds were completely turned upside down. Nothing about what happened to him makes sense or adds up. His date of death is February 1, 2023. His cause of death was smoke inhalation. We weren’t made aware of the body being found even after we filed his missing persons report. The state fire marshal told us he was not even made aware until we called and told him about it ourselves. When a body is found in a fire the fire marshal is supposed to be notified, it is a law. I called the jail, every hospital in Monroe, and police departments. We didn’t find out about the body until we started asking questions and had to go through other sources. His body sat at the morgue for nearly a month, and the assistant coroner knew Steven personally. He stayed with her and her daughter and they were the last to see him alive. She told us she suspected the body was him but didn’t have the heart to call. She told the coroner here that she had a white male, 38.. but at this time they didnt know anything about the body. She said she thinks he went there to sleep and lit a fire to stay warm. She says it was probably an accident, but again if you knew him you know he was very resourceful..he lived on the streets for years and managed to stay alive all this time. It doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t seem right that this was all just an accident. The conflict of interest and holding the body for so long alone is enough for us to question everything. I am in no way accusing anyone of anything, but we deserve answers to our questions and to be heard. We are still seeking justice and answers, but it’s a very long and painful process. This has been the hardest thing any of us have dealt with.

After a long wait we are finally able to get his body released. We have decided to cremate him for a few reasons, there is not much of him left because his body is burnt past a recognizable state, and we simply cannot afford a funeral. Steven didn’t have insurance, he didn’t have much of anything really. The cremation alone is $2,200, not including the memorial, legal costs we may encounter as this goes on, or anything else related to this. Many friends and family members have asked if they could help in any way, if they could send flowers, food, etc… but if I’m being honest none of these things will help us grieve. Justice and answers will help us grieve. Peace of mind that this really was just an accident will help us grieve. That being said, we have decided to start a gofundme page if any friends/family are willing and can help with these expenses. It has never been easy on our family financially, and it’s even harder given Steven didn’t have anything to leave behind. Any additional money after all costs will not be kept. We dont want to benefit from this in any other ways than justice and peace of mind. The money will be donated to something that will do good. Possibly schools to pay off kids unpaid lunch accounts or funeral homes to help another family like ours.

Those of you who knew Steven know he struggled with addiction for a very long time, but he was an amazing person who didn’t deserve this. Yes, he was an addict, but he was also a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend. Steven was loved by so many people. Addiction is an illness. Mental health is serious and he struggled severely. Im in no way making excuses for his behavior or lifestyle, it hurt so many of us and I know it better than anyone.

We want to thank everyone for the support throughout this process. We understand this isn’t easy for anyone, not just us. We are all trying to make peace with his death, we all deserve to know the truth no matter what it may be. We don’t want to make anyone feel obligated to contribute to this, and we understand it’s rough financially for a lot of people right now. No matter how you help, flowers, food, and emotional support included, we thank you greatly.