WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — Note: The video at the top of this article originally aired on July 5, 2023.
A beekeeper found dead after a fire broke out on his property in White Settlement in July was killed by his bees, and not the fire he was found in, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner has determined.
On July 5, firefighters in White Settlement responded to reports of a fire at a property near Vaquero Street and Silver Creek Road. While putting the fire out, police said firefighters found a man later identified as 79-year-old Graham Billy Davis deceased where the fire was located, right near some beehives that were kept on the property where he lived with his son.
At the time, it was unclear if Davis, a longtime beekeeper, had suffered a medical emergency while harvesting honey from his bees, if he had died as a result of the fire or if he was killed by his bees prior to the fire being sparked.
Police said their investigation into his death showed that Davis had used a bee smoker to calm his bees down before he passed. The device he used included a nozzle, billow and fire chamber, police said. If the device had fallen to the ground, officials said in July, it was possible that it could've started a fire in the surrounding vegetation.
The medical examiner's report confirms that's what happened. Specifically, the report listed his cause of death as "anaphylaxis due to bee envenomation."
"Anaphylaxis" is a medical term meaning a severe, rapidly developing allergic reaction. "Envenomation" is a term describing exposure to a poison or toxin as a result of an animal bite or sting.
Firefighters who were stung by bees during their response to the July fire on Davis' property were not injured and did not require treatment for their stings, police said at the time of the incident.